SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California corrections officials have begun limiting medical parole only to inmates so ill they are on ventilators.

They are citing a federal rule change as the reason inmates who are quadriplegic or have other severe permanent disabilities no longer can be placed in nursing homes.

An attorney representing inmates says it could lead to a third of the 210 permanently incapacitated inmates on medical parole being sent back to prison. The federal agency says California could switch to other care facilities that don’t fall under the same guidelines as nursing homes.

A state corrections spokesperson said that would require establishing a new monitoring program for those facilities.