Lawmakers in Colorado are trying to change the fact that their state is one of only four that do not have mandatory reporting laws governing elder abuse. State Sen. Evie Hudak (D) introduced legislation that would form a task force to study mandatory reporting. It would offer recommendations by Dec. 1, the Denver Post reported.

Illinois lawmakers delayed a vote on a bill requiring that at least 20% of all nursing and personal care in a nursing home be provided by a registered nurse.

Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) signed anti-union legislation early in February that will turn Indiana into a right-to-work state. Right-to-work legislation bans unions from requiring members to pay union dues, a move that pro-labor critics of the legislation characterize as "union-busting."

Due partly to the average 11.1% reduction in Medicare payments to nursing homes that took effect in October, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez (R) is asking state legislators to approve her state budget, which earmarks $8 million for skilled nursing facilities.

OHIO — The state's skilled nursing facilities have shed or plan to shed 2,800 jobs in the wake of recent Medicare and Medicaid cuts, new survey results show.

California has managed to gain Obama administration approval to cut the state's Medicaid program funding by $1.4 billion. Providers soon will feel the sting of 10% reimbursement cuts.

NEW YORK - That the state health department cut nursing home Medicaid funding this year was enough of a sting, but having to recoup payouts from years before was the proverbial straw for nearly 36 facilities, which are now suing the state Health Department.

FLORIDA - Federal HHS investigators accused the state's Department of Elder Affairs of violating the Older Americans Act, capping a five-month investigation over a series of actions it claims unlawfully neutralized the powers of a nursing home watchdog program.

Ongoing Medicaid program cuts have now led to a game of musical chairs in the state's nursing homes, which no longer can hold the room of a resident who is temporarily hospitalized or leaves to visit friends or family.

OHIO — Instead of cutting its way out of an $8 billion budget shortfall, the state will instead shift more funding dollars away from nursing homes toward less costly home-based long-term care in a move that is being billed as one of the most profound Medicaid program overhauls in history.