Nursing home regulation: history and expectations

This article contains a broad overview of the history of Federal regulation of nursing homes from the perspective of an individual involved directly for a number of years in the development and enforcement of Federal regulatory requirements. The article also contains a summary of the major statutory changes in the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 that affect nursing homes. Finally, the results of these changes are projected in terms of new outcome-oriented requirements and a broad range of new enforcement authorities.