the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist
“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx
February 2, 2026
In July of 2025, Donald Trump signed into law the “One Big Beautiful Bill” that included a 10-year moratorium on a staffing rule in nursing homes. The staffing rule initiated under the Biden administration in 2024 required increased staffing levels in nursing homes. The bill also exempted nursing homes from a Medicaid cut.
Biden had promised to address the declining quality and increasing costs at nursing homes in his State of the Union address. The promise was in January of 2022. The staffing rule wasn’t even initiated until April of 2024, although never enforced.
And within six weeks, according to an investigative report by the New York Times, nursing home executives “turned to a tool that has proved successful in getting the attention of the Trump campaign: money.” A number of executives donated as much as $250,000 each to Trump’s campaign.
The money continued to pour in after the Big Beautiful Bill was signed in July of 2025. About 40 corporate entities associated with nursing homes across the country gave 4.8 million to MAGA Inc., a super PAC run by Trump’s allies, in August and September.
Because—the nursing home industry doesn’t just want a moratorium—it wants to make any nursing home staffing reforms go away permanently.
There are 15,000 certified nursing homes in the U.S. And like all of health care in the U.S., there are monopoly-like groups which own and control what is known as the nursing home industry. These nursing home groups are not just content to feed at the trough of government money from Medicaid. They also make profits by having staffing at the lowest possible levels. Increased staffing means increased labor costs that cut into their profits.
Their lobby group, The America Health Care Association, has represented the nursing home industry’s interests in Washington, D.C. for 75 years! These nursing home executives, and the major shareholders they serve, are nothing but pariahs making millions, while elders and the disabled suffer.
No profits should be made at the expense of the elderly or any human being. Care should be based on what it is that older people need, and that absolutely necessitates extensive staffing, with nursing home workers making high salaries with excellent benefits and humane working conditions.