In a bold challenge to the Biden Administration, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against a new rule from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) which, he claims, could lead to the closure of rural nursing homes in the state. As reported by the Texas Attorney General's office, the rule imposes new staffing requirements on nursing homes, which Paxton argues would be impossible to meet given the current labor market constraints, particularly in rural areas.
According to the lawsuit, the CMS's final rule is asking Texas nursing homes to find over 10,000 new staff with specific qualifications, a number that reportedly exceeds the available workforce in the region. This rule is deemed contrary to the Major Questions Doctrine, under which significant policy decisions should be made by elected members of Congress, not government agencies. Nevertheless, the CMS has introduced these changes without congressional approval, despite Congress having rejected modifications to nursing home staffing levels in the past.
Attorney General Paxton criticized the CMS's actions as an overreach of executive authority. "This power grab by Biden’s health bureaucrats could put much-needed care facilities out of business in some of the most underserved areas of our state," Paxton stated in the news release , as the stress on staffing could exacerbate the care shortages in rural communities. He also stated the rule violates the Administrative Procedure Act by being arbitrary and capricious, which, if proven, could provide grounds for the court to vacate the regulation.
The potential fallout from this rule includes the displacement of elderly citizens in rural Texas who may be forced out of care should local nursing homes shut down under the new regulations.
