White House Weighs Expanding Nursing Facility Penalties That We Fought For

Last summer, AARP Foundation notched a win for nursing facility residents: the resumption of allowing daily fines on certain facility violations of federal rules. The Trump administration had limited those fines to one-time penalties of roughly $22,000 in many instances — even if the violations continued for days or months.

This week, the Biden White House announced that it wants to expand on that victory by weighing the possibility of making per-day fines against nursing facilities the default penalty for noncompliance. The proposal is part of a slew of proposed nursing facility reforms the White House announced on Monday. They include measures AARP has long advocated for, like minimum staffing standards and increased funding for facility inspections.

Last summer’s resumption of daily fines for nursing facilities came in response to a 2021 lawsuit by AARP Foundation and a Washington-based law firm that argued the suspension of daily fines violated federal law and endangered residents.

Read more about the White House’s proposed nursing facility reforms.