LANSING – House Democrats today unveiled a package of seven bills to protect seniors by increasing accountability and quality of care standards when it comes to nursing home care and licensing.
"The decision to put a loved one in a nursing home is an emotional and time consuming process in which one searches for the best care possible," said State Representative Robert Jones (D-Kalamazoo). "When private investors come to Michigan shopping for nursing homes, it is our parents, grandparents, family friends and loved ones who may be adversely affected. We want to make sure that doesn't happen here."
The House Senior Health, Security and Retirement Committee, chaired by Rep. Jones, and the House Health Policy Committee, chaired by State Representative Kathy Angerer (D-Dundee), recently held joint legislative hearings to fully examine what private equity ownership means for Michigan seniors and their families. The testimony has shown that current law does not allow for strong enough oversight and enforcement of nursing homes owned by private equity firms. Such facilities are equated with unacceptable care and conditions, and action must be taken to hold these nursing homes accountable.
In response to the hearings, House Dems developed a seven bill package to protect Michigan seniors. The package will increase the transparency of nursing home ownership and hold private equity firms accountable for their actions. The package also will enforce operating and licensing standards, and require appropriate funding be put into place.
"Our nursing homes need higher quality of care standards and more accountability – not less," Angerer said. "People and patient care should never, ever be compromised for the sake of profits. I am confident that with our new package, we will be able to properly care for our seniors by taking key steps toward protecting the quality of care and improving patient safety."
A New York Times (NY Times) investigation analyzed trends at nursing homes purchased by private investment groups and found that investors who acquire nursing homes often reduce costs, increase profits, and resell the facilities for significant gains.1 The paper examined more than 1,200 nursing homes purchased by large private investment groups since 2000 and more than 14,000 other homes using data available from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. On average, residents at facilities owned by private investment firms have fared more poorly than occupants of other nursing homes. Before these homes were acquired by private investors, many scored at or above national averages in similar measurements.
The House Democrat's package will:
- Increase transparency to require owners of nursing homes to be held accountable for funding and delinquent care.
- Change the language of current Michigan law to trigger a change of ownership whenever a large corporation buys a nursing home which will allow the Department of Community Health to decide whether or not to license the nursing home.
- Require that notice be given to residents and those responsible for them at least 30 days prior to a change of ownership, giving them time to make a decision to change facilities.
- Require that the nursing home license and the names and contact information of the nursing home officers is clearly posted at the facility.
- Establish penalties for nursing home employees or administrators who provide fraudulent information to nursing home surveyors or investigators.
- Require the owners of nursing homes to prove they have the money for proper funding and quality care.
- Require that every nursing home be properly insured in order to operate.
The seven bill package was announced today by House Democrats in conjunction with "Older Michiganians Day" – a day for senior advocacy at the Capitol.
"These provisions are extremely important to residents because knowledge is power – they have every right to know who is responsible and accountable for the quality of care they experience," said Sarah Slocum, State Long Term Care Ombudsman. "It is very hard, even for professionals, to figure out all of the ownership links in these private equity firms. These provisions will move us toward a much more transparent system."
1 "At many homes, more profit and less nursing," The New York Times, Sept. 23, 2007