Attorney General Ken Paxton is touting a win for seniors in Texas.
Paxton’s office has successfully blocked a Biden administration rule that would have imposed sweeping new requirements on nursing homes. These new requirements, Paxton said, could have forced facilities across the state to shut their doors.
The rule, issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), allegedly aimed to increase staffing and compliance standards in long-term care facilities for older adults. However, Paxton’s office argued that the regulation overstepped federal authority and imposed burdensome mandates that many Texas nursing homes could not afford to meet.
A federal judge agreed, granting Paxton’s request to vacate Biden’s imposed standards. In a recent statement, Paxton hailed the decision as a huge win for Texas seniors, their families, and senior living facilities across America.
“This is a massive victory for the Texans who rely on nursing homes for care, ensuring that no facilities have to close their doors because of Biden’s burdensome regulations,” Paxton said. “The Biden Administration’s legacy of lawlessness will be eradicated one victory after the next.”
The lawsuit, first filed in 2024, was one of more than 100 lawsuits Paxton has brought against the Biden administration. In this case, he argued that CMS lacked the authority to rewrite federal law unilaterally, and that the proposed changes could have forced the closure of several facilities, especially those in rural and “underserved” communities.
Paxton also feared the CMS requirements would have flat-out displaced many elderly residents, including those in memory care, or those strained to find decent healthcare options across Texas.
“I sued Biden more than 100 times and will continue to aggressively fight to prevent the arbitrary and unlawful edicts issued by his deep state bureaucrats from taking effect,” the Attorney General added.
Texas facilities will now avoid the costly overhauls required by the vacated CMS rule. According to Paxton, this reprieve could determine the survival or closure of many senior living facilities throughout the state.