Board of Advisors Distinguished Professor of Law Nina Kohn wrote the article “The Federal Memo Threatening Nursing Home Voters” for Forbes. Kohn examines a July memo from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on voting in nursing homes that rescinded earlier guidance designed to ensure that facilities helped their residents vote.
Kohn writes, “The July memo did not change the underlying law. The federal Nursing Home Reform Act, adopted by Congress in 1987, still requires nursing homes that accept Medicare or Medicaid funding to support residents in exercising their rights as citizens. That includes the right to vote. Likewise, Section 208 of the Voting Rights Act still grants individuals with disabilities who require assistance to vote the right to voting-related assistance from a person of their choosing.”