New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed an executive order Dec. 31 delaying a new law requiring nursing homes to spend at least 70 percent of revenue on direct resident care, and at least 40 percent on staff who care for residents for 30 days.

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo will not face criminal charges for underreporting the number of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes, Politico reported Jan. 3.

New Jersey has agreed to pay $52.9 million to the families of 119 residents who died of COVID-19 early on in the pandemic, an official confirmed to NJ Advance Media. 

More than 250 New York nursing homes and trade groups filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block  a state law set to go into effect Jan. 1 requiring facilities to spend at least 70 percent of revenue on direct resident care, and at least 40 percent on staff who care for residents, the Times Union reported Dec. 29.

Fifty-eight percent of the nation's 14,000 nursing homes are limiting admissions in the face of staffing shortages, causing hospitals and emergency rooms to experience difficulty moving patients to the next step in their care, The Washington Post reported Dec. 28.

Officials from three leading nursing home industry trade groups are urging CMS to allow facilities to institute temporary visitation restrictions as the industry braces for a spike in COVID-19 cases. 

The former owner of eight nursing homes across Arkansas was charged with eight counts of Medicaid fraud and two counts of tax fraud, according to a Dec. 20 news release from the Arkansas attorney general. 

A story about unvaccinated nursing home employees at a Kentucky facility sparking a COVID-19 outbreak was Becker's most-read post-acute story in 2021.

Nursing homes are scrambling to administer COVID-19 boosters to residents as cases are on the rise amid the omicron variant, The Hill reported Dec. 19.

The Ohio House of Representatives passed a bill allotting $300 million in federal money to pay direct care workers in the state's nursing homes, Cleveland.com reported Dec. 9.  

Citations issued to nursing homes, even those for serious offenses, can be appealed to a special federal court in an informal dispute resolution process, which operates "almost entirely in secret," according to a New York Times investigation published Dec. 9.

Advocates are urging CMS to reinstate mandatory federal training requirements for nursing aides working directly with nursing home residents, citing safety concerns, Bloomberg Law reported Dec. 10. 

The owner of California’s largest nursing home company is facing a lawsuit with more than 142 complaints alleging one of his nursing homes is responsible for the COVID-19-related deaths of 24 residents, San Jose Inside reported Dec. 8. 

Minnesota plans to use $3.5 million in federal funding in a new tuition reimbursement program to train and deploy 1,000 nursing assistants into long-term care facilities by Jan. 31, the Hastings Star Gazette reported Dec. 6.

An Iowa nursing home cited in October for 18 federal and four state regulatory violations is now facing at least $685,000 in fines, the Iowa Capital Dispatch reported Dec. 3. 

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul deployed 60 National Guard teams to nursing homes throughout the state to relieve staff shortages and rising COVID-19 infections, Lohud reported Dec. 1.

Wisconsin offers the strongest protection against elder abuse in the U.S., according to an analysis released Dec. 1 by WalletHub, a personal finance website.

Recent studies on post-acute care have focused on quality of care in private-equity owned nursing homes, medical school residents' knowledge of nursing facilities and more. 

New York nursing homes and other adult care facilities must provide access to COVID-19 booster shots to all residents, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Nov. 28 as a part of a state of emergency declaration. 

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz activated the National Guard to form skilled-nursing "response teams" to provide support to long-term care facilities experiencing staff shortages and ​​proposed providing $50 million in federal funding to facilities to help with hiring and retention in a Nov. 22 press release.