KFF Health News January 23, 2026
Month after month, Patricia Hunter and other members of the Nursing Home Reform Coalition logged onto video calls with congressional representatives, seeking support for a proposed federal rule setting minimum staff levels for nursing homes.
Finally, after decades of advocacy, the Biden administration in 2023 tackled the problem of perennial understaffing of long-term care facilities. Officials backed a Medicare regulation that would mandate at least 3.48 hours of care from nurses and aides per resident, per day, and would require a registered nurse on-site 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The mandated hours were lower than supporters hoped for, said Hunter, who directs Washington state’s long-term care ombudsman program. But “I’m a pragmatic person, so I thought, this...
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