In “Your Parents Deserve More From Their Nursing Home,” a Guest Essay in The New York Times (Feb. 7, 2025), University of Pennsylvania Researchers Norma B. Coe and Rachel M. Werner support implementation of a final rule, promulgated by the Biden Administration, that sets minimum nurse staffing standards for nursing facilities. Coe and Werner cite their July 2024 estimate that the rule would save the lives of about 13,000 residents a year and improve health outcomes for residents. They reject nursing home industry claims that industry profit margins are thin, citing an analysis by the National Bureau of Economic Research, “Tunneling and Hidden Profits in Health Care,” and contending that “facilities regularly funnel their revenue into related firms that do business at inflated prices, effectively hiding profits.”
The Center for Medicare Advocacy supports the modest final rule while supporting more stringent nurse staffing standards. In litigation filed in Iowa, brought by State Attorneys General and Leading Age affiliates, CMA submitted an amicus brief in opposition to plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction. The brief cites the Coe/Werner research and, among other issues, addresses related party dealings that divert public reimbursement to excessive private profit for owners and operators. The Court denied the motion. The Government filed an Answer on February 5, 2025.
February 13, 2025 – T. Edelman