Southern California Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer Blog
Nursing homes in Los Angeles County and throughout the state of California are already subject to staffing requirements — something that is true for nursing homes in only about 20 states. However, last spring, the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized a rule that would require all long-term care facilities to have staffing requirements, including the standard of 3.48 hours per day or more for each resident, which includes requires of at least 0.55 hours per day of direct care from a registered nurse (RN), as well as at least 2.45 hours per day of direct nurse aide care. The additional 0.48 hours per day of care required, according to the finalized rule, can come from RN, licensed practice nurse (LPN) care, licensed vocational nurse (LVN) care, or nurse aide care.
The rule was finalized on April 22, 2024, yet a recent report in McKnight’s suggests that a high percentage of nursing homes across the United States are unlikely to be able to meet the requirements in the final rule. And further, the report suggests, the staffing requirements in the final rule could be undone by Trump administration actions. Will the new nationwide staffing requirements, or the possibility of a pulling back of those requirements, impact nursing home care and safety in California?
Staffing Requirements in California Nursing Homes
Under California law, most skilled nursing facilities are required to have a minimum of 3.5 direct care service hours each day per patient, with at least 2.4 hours per day provided by certified nurse assistants (CNAs). As you can see by comparing those numbers to the minimum staffing requirements in the final CMS rule, California actually requires more staffing than the CMS rule does for states that do not have staffing laws such as the one in California.
Accordingly, even if the Trump administration were to limit enforcement of the rule or roll back the CMS rule, facilities in California would still be required to comply with state law that includes staffing minimums at skilled nursing facilities. However, just because staffing mandates are in place in California does not necessarily mean that all facilities are in compliance. Yet the McKnight’s article suggests that California is doing better than other states.
Report Suggests States with Nursing Home Staffing Mandates May Be Doing Better Than Others
According to the report in McKnight’s, the places where the CMS standards are unlikely to be met are states that did not previously have staffing laws in place. As of January 2025, only about 46% of facilities in states without staffing mandates prior to the CMS rule have met the new federal minimums, while that number is over 60% in states with previous staffing mandates. In April 2024, when the CMS final rule was issued, McKnight’s reported that more than 80% of nursing homes across the country were not presently meeting the requirements set forth in the new rule.
Contact a Los Angeles County Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Attorney
Nursing homes and other long-term care facilities must provide the level of care that residents require to be safe and healthy. If you have an elderly parent or another elderly loved one who sustained injuries in a nursing home in Southern California, it is important to work with an experienced Los Angeles County nursing home abuse and neglect attorney to determine whether the facility is likely to be liable. Contact the Walton Law Firm to learn more about how we can assist you.
See Related Blog Posts:
Nursing Home Residents Have the Right to Leave: Understanding California Law
When Nursing Home Abuse Does Not Have Physical Signs
