Activist Judge Puts Elderly at Risk

Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of Northern Texas arbitrarily threw out the nursing home safe staffing mandate. He decided the mandate was inconsistent with Congress’s legislation governing nursing homes.

CMS determined that the staffing requirements were needed while citing various forms of literature, data, interviews, and public comments. The DOJ emphasizes that the new requirement aligns with the law and “falls comfortably” in CMS’ authority to set health and safety standards for residents.

The new rules require 24/7 registered nurse (RN) which contradicts Congress’s archaic rule of having an RN for only 8 hours daily. However, the mandate that federal judge Kacsmaryk threw out requires staffing hours based on the number of residents in the facility. In contrast, Congress mandated consideration of the facility’s acuity or individual needs regarding staffing.

“Though the final rule attempts to remedy chronic nursing home deficiencies, it does so deficiently,” said Kacsmaryk. “The final rule still must be consistent with Congress’s statutes. To allow otherwise permits agencies to amend statutes without legislative power. Separation of powers demands more than praiseworthy intent.”

Although the nursing home industry praised and rejoiced over the Texas ruling, there is uncertainty about where the Trump administration stands. This mandate contradicts Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s comment in January, in which he raised concerns over the practicality of the staffing rule.

Legal experts state that this filing is unsurprising given Trump’s first term.

“Such support seems the polar opposite of what we have been seeing with Trump’s agenda of significantly reducing the role of the federal government in several areas and aspects,” Craig Conley, shareholder at law firm Baker Donelson, told Skilled Nursing News.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s DOJ that the industry’s lawsuit is “not likely to succeed on the merits” and that the staffing rule isn’t “arbitrary
and capricious.”