Many state nursing home oversight agencies are understaffed. Advocates for residents say that is increasingly putting people who live in nursing homes at greater risk of abuse and neglect.
States have a federal mandate to regulate federally licensed nursing homes, but they rarely face consequences for lax oversight. A class-action lawsuit in Maryland, filed by the legal nonprofit Justice in Aging and others, could help change that. Thousands of disabled nursing home residents say alleged oversight failures there violate their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act. An outcome in their favor could pressure other states to make oversight a higher priority.
