A major Indiana nursing home builder is suing the state, seeking to strike down a 2015 moratorium on new nursing home construction in most of the state.   A law passed that year barred construction of new nursing homes for three years.  Proponents noted that existing nursing homes were far from full.  Ways and Means Chair Tim Brown, one of the bill’s sponsors, says under the Medicare funding structure used to support nursing homes, taxpayers essentially pay for all beds in the facilities, including empty ones – making new nursing homes a bad investment for the state.

But Mainstreet Property Group says that moratorium violates state and federal law.  Attorney Jim Bopp, representing the company, says the law stifles competition and innovation.  In a statement, he says the law also forced Mainstreet to halt plans already in the works before the measure’s passage.  Mainstreet CEO Zeke Turner says his company saw a lawsuit as its only recourse.