Long debate as committee examines bill to let counties resume nursing-home inspections amid inspection backlog

Senate Bill 376 would enable county governments to resume or perform delegated inspections of nursing homes under the federal-state inspection contract, the sponsor told the House Health and Government Operations Committee, amid testimony that Maryland has fallen far behind on federally required nursing-home surveys.

Sen. Ben Kramer, introducing the bill, said Maryland is failing to inspect its most vulnerable residents; he cited federal contract numbers showing the state received roughly $3–3.7 million per year in recent fiscal years for nursing-home survey work and argued those funds have not produced the required inspections. Kramer said Montgomery County previously performed survey work for the state for 20 years and paid roughly 60% of the cost; since the contract lapsed in 2021 he said many jurisdictions have had…