McKnights: State bill limits SNF medical director coverage, adds training rules
February 26, 2026
Concerns about coverage
LifeSpan Network became the Maryland affiliate of the American Health Care Association last year. It, too, is supporting the bill with an amendment to address coverage limits.
“Workforce challenges already make it very difficult for nursing homes to recruit and retain medical directors, and the two facility limit per director would exacerbate these challenges,” President and CEO Kevin Heffner told McKnight’s.
A 2024 study found that 35% of US nursing homes reported zero medical director presence in the first quarter of 2023. Using Payroll Based Journal data, the researchers found medical director presence fluctuated between 2017 and 2023 with a decline over the last four years of that period. Nursing homes that reported having a required medical director showed that person was on the payroll for an average of 36 minutes per day, or just over four hours a week.
The Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General this year also announced that it is investigating whether medical director PBJ data is accurate or useful for oversight, and the extent to which medical directors performed their required duties.
If it moves forward with its own requirements, Maryland would join Florida and California, which have both acted in advance of any coming federal certification standards.