The three new rules are important steps in promoting better access to care, transparency, and quality of care for all Medicaid beneficiaries. Although the measures still do not go far enough to protect nursing home residents, we applaud the attention the Biden administration is giving to staffing problems in nursing homes. Nursing homes will only hire adequate staff when required to do so. Establishing federal minimum staffing standards is an important first step.

Our attorneys have long advocated for federal and state regulations to provide better oversight and protection of our most vulnerable citizens, many of whom live in skilled nursing facilities. We have helped write legislation and even testified before Congress and the state legislature in support of change.

Too often, nursing home operators prioritize profits over people. Meanwhile, we will continue to hold nursing homes accountable when they allow innocent residents to suffer abuse and neglect. Our goal is to use litigation to make it more expensive for nursing homes to allow abuse than to provide safe, hospitable environments for residents.