Skilled nursing facility operators struggling to maintain margins as they cope with increased costs—especially labor costs, due to a shortage of nurses—soon may get hit with a federal minimum staffing requirement that could raise the cost of running the nation's 15,500 nursing homes by as much as $10B per year.

The Biden Administration is preparing to impose minimum staffing requirements on nursing homes next year, the Washington Post reported this week.

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra told the newspaper the Administration is acting in response to the catastrophic impact of the pandemic on nursing homes—an estimated 160,000 nursing home residents died from COVID-19, as well as 2,700 staff members.