SENATOR HOCHADEL BLASTS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION FOR MAKING NURSING HOMES LESS SAFE
December 4, 2025
Today, State Senator Jan Hochadel (D-Meriden), Senate Chair of the Aging Committee, blasted the Trump administration’s decision this week to repeal Biden-era regulations on long-term care facility staffing standards, an effort that will reduce the amount of direct care that nursing home patients receive each day and will likely lead to worse health outcomes for them.
On December 2, the federal Department of Health and Human Services repealed measures initially passed in 2024 that sought to increase minimum nursing home staffing requirements with the intent of reducing the risk of residents receiving unsafe or low-quality care.
The rule required nursing homes participating in Medicare and Medicaid to provide residents with at least 3.48 hours of nursing care per day, including at least half-an-hour of care from a registered nurse and about two-and-a-half hours from a nursing aide. It also required facilities to have registered nurses on location 24/7.
“Our loved ones deserve the best possible care in nursing homes, which makes this decision from the federal government so disappointing,” said Sen. Hochadel. “These staffing requirements were purposely designed to ensure people could receive the help and attention they need, as far too many patients struggle and suffer when they don’t receive timely care or current staff is stretched too thin to properly respond to their needs. While Connecticut’s regulations for patient care will withstand this repeal, that doesn’t change the reality that nationally, nursing home providers will benefit at patients’ expense.”
Connecticut state law requires nursing homes to provide at least three hours of direct care per resident per day.
Prior to this official repeal, the rule was previously under fire from opponents. Lawsuits over the new policy from nursing home provider organizations saw federal judges strike parts of the new staffing requirements in 2024, while the federal budget approved by Republican lawmakers in July 2025 delayed its implementation by a decade.
Nursing home and hospital groups supported the repeal of the rule, while nursing home consumer advocate groups noted that residents would struggle in homes without adequate staffing.