A federal lawsuit filed by the American Health Care Association (AHCA) claims that the national nursing home staffing mandate “creates impossible-to-meet standards that will harm thousands of nursing homes and the vulnerable Americans they serve.”

Regulations are needed in healthcare – I think most providers would agree. Taking on federal regulators in a lawsuit is not for the faint-hearted and a contention we would prefer didn’t exist.  But in this case, a mandate – meaning skilled nursing facilities will be monetarily penalized if not met (The federal agency – the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – has estimated compliance will cost the sector about $40 billion in the rule’s first decade; the latest industry estimates have put the price tag even higher at $6.5 billion to $7 billion annually, plus the cost of any associated penalties for non-compliance) – is a rule without context – seemingly none.

Anyone who works in long term care and anyone who has a family member in a skilled nursing facility knows about the nationwide workforce shortage of nurses, physicians and allied health professionals – the latter which include Certified Nurse Aides (CNA) our direct care providers. Layer on top of that how Covid not only cost the US hundreds of thousands of lives, but ravaged our healthcare system causing early retirement or career changes among key medical staff due to burn out (of which a staffing shortage was a large culprit), increased mental health challenges and sparked violence in healthcare settings, and has led us to a crossroads in healthcare.

Taking into account the realities of the long term care sector would have been helpful before CMS determined it would ask us to somehow manufacture an increased workforce out of thin air and if we can’t – we are forced to pay them money we need to pay our current team members, market positions that need to be filled by qualified applicants, train and retain our workforce and reward those who provide exemplary care. And that is what I mean when I say CMS is imposing regulations without considering the context of reality.

Taking the federal government to court due to this mandate is a necessary, albeit uncomfortable, action.

“The Time is always right to do what is right”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Reasonable, rational regulation is welcome. Impossible, unjustifiable regulation is not.

Mark McKenzie

Founder & CEO