July 1, 2010

New Nursing Home Laws Seek to Improve Elder Care

The Center for Medicare Advocacy released new information to help explain the nursing home provisions in the recently passed federal legislation known commonly as the “Affordable Care Act.” The Act is actually a collection of two different pieces of legislation, each of which affects nursing home care throughout the country. It is important for anyone with a loved one currently receiving care in one of these facilities to understand the changes to best ensure that the care provided to your elderly friends and family is meeting the legal standards.

Overall, the reforms are focused on three areas: improving transparency of information about nursing homes, better targeting enforcement of the current nursing home laws, and improving staff training.

First, according to the new law, nursing homes are now required to make ownership information available immediately to appropriate government oversight groups. In addition, the Health and Human Services Department must include new information in the “Nursing Home Compare” section of their website to provide better tools for consumers to determine the best place to provide care to their friends and family. Other new transparency requirements include detailed reports of nursing home expenditures, a standardized complaint form, and new staff accountability reports.

Next, the laws make changes to the enforcement of current nursing home regulation laws. For example, a National Independent Monitor Demonstration Project is now required which is intended “to develop, test, and implement independent monitor programs to oversee interstate and large intrastate chains.” Changes to the protocol of nursing homes closure are also made in the new law which will ensure that no new residents is admitted while a facility is scheduled to be closed.

The necessity of these changes in particular is made clear by recent examples of nursing home abuse. Just last month, Illinois officials scheduled several facilities in Illinois to be closed for repeated examples of nursing home negligence.

Finally, the new laws require additional staff training for nurse aides. Specifically, the aides must now have dementia management training and other elder abuse prevention training. Our Chicago nursing home attorneys at Levin & Perconti know all too well the consequences of untrained and unskilled nursing home employees. We have won countless settlements and verdicts against nursing homes whose untrained workers provided inadequate care. From wandering and elopement to medication errors and pressure sores, nurse home employees who are not trained to provide proper care repeatedly commit elder abuse at nursing homes across the country.

Click here to read more about the new laws affecting nursing homes and the care they provide.

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Posted In: Legislation

April 26, 2010

Health Bill Focuses on Elder Abuse

The new health care law has many benefits for the American people. One important group of individuals that are set to gain from the law is the elderly. The health care law contains a provision for $777 million that will be spread over the next four years. This money will be allocated for programs to prevent and prosecute elder abuse. The provisions mirror those that were contained in the Elder Justice Act, legislation that was backed by the National Center of Elder Abuse.

The New York Times is reporting that the nursing home legislation will give state and local adult protective service programs financing from the federal government. These agencies will then be better able to investigate reports of elder abuse and neglect. It will also tackle the ever pressing need to attack financial exploitation of elderly and disabled adults. This will happen because the nursing home legislation will finance 1,700 new investigators of elder abuse around the country. States will be given demonstration grants so they themselves may test various approaches of adult protective services. Also, the funding will allow for new state ombudsmen to be trained to investigate complaints related to these long-term care facilities.

Finally the nursing home legislation will create a new council through the federal secretary of Health and Human Services that will make recommendations on ways of preventing elder abuse. The Chicago nursing home lawyers of Levin & Perconti applaud this new legislation and the stance it takes on elder abuse. To read more about the nursing home legislation, please click the link.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Legislation

March 27, 2010

Elder Justice Act will Help Illinois Nursing Homes

On Tuesday President Obama singed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. These pills contain the Nursing Home transparency and Improvement Act and the Elder Justice Act. They also will create a national program of criminal background checks on long-term care workers. The National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care has outlined many of the wonderful aspects of this legislation that was introduced by Illinois Representative Jan Schakowsky.

The Nursing Home Transparency and Improvement act will ensure that there is a public disclosure of nursing home owners and will establish internal procedures by nursing homes to reduce civil and criminal violations. By adding training programs for dementia care and abuse prevention, this legislation will help reduce nursing home negligence. It will also find ways to introduce technology into nursing homes. The nursing home legislation will also require a sixty-day advance notification of facility closure and authorization to continue Medicaid payments pending relocation of all residents. This portion of the legislation will be extremely applicable to Illinois due to the many recent nursing home closures.

The Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act will create a national program of criminal background checks on employees of long-term care providers. This legislation is long overdue and will help ensure that those with a felonious background will not be employed by a nursing home. Also the Elder Justice Act will help combat the growing problem of elder abuse. This act too was introduced by Representative Schakowsky. To learn more about the new nursing home legislation, please visit the NCCNHR’s homepage.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Legislation, Legislation

March 23, 2010

Elder Justice Bill: Helping to Protect Illinois Residents from Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect

As part of the new health care system plan, Congress and President Obama have approved the Elder Justice Act and the Patient Safety Abuse Prevention Act. This will include Adult Protective Services (APS) funding that will provide $400 million in first-time dedicated funding for adult protection services. It will also provide $100 million in state demonstration grants in order to test many different methods that will improve APS.

The bill will provide $32.5 million in grants to support long-term care ombudsman programs. Ombudsman are vital to nursing homes because they are many times the first responders to nursing home abuse and neglect . For instance, the Illinois Long-Term Care Ombudsmen program helps to protect the safety and well-being of nursing home residents in Illinois by investigating complaints on behalf of residents and their families and also educating these groups on residents' rights. There will also be an additional $40 million given to training programs for national organizations and State long-term ombudsmen programs.

The Elder Justice Bill will establish what is being referred to as the Elder Justice Coordinating Council that will make recommendations to the Secretary of Health and Human Services on the coordination of activities of federal, state, local and private agencies. They will also work with entities who relate in elder abuse, neglect and financial exploitation. Recently, this country has seen a great rise in the amount of elder financial exploitation cases.

The Patient Safety Abuse Prevention Act will help keep nursing home patients from abusive employees. It creates a national program of criminal background checks for those seeking to work in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities. The Chicago nursing home abuse lawyers of Levin & Perconti are extremely pleased with the passage of this legislation and believe that it will go a long way to combat nursing home abuse. To learn more about how the two nursing home bills will affect the elderly, please visit the National Center on Elder Abuse.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Legislation

March 7, 2010

Illinois Nursing Homes Must Carry Insurance

The Clarion Ledger has recently posted an article discussing the needs of nursing homes to carry insurance. The article points out that many nursing homes do not carry enough liability insurance to cover damages caps if a nursing home abuse lawsuit is filed. Many nursing homes face lawsuits after physical and sexual abuse or nursing home neglect. Nursing homes should be required to carry enough insurance to cover a vulnerable person that is injured, mistreated or abused while a resident at the home.

In Mississippi, a current House Bill 536 would require non-government nursing homes to carry $500,000 in liability coverage which is equivalent to the amount that the government nursing homes must carry under the Tort Claims Act. While this out-of-state legislation may seem like an obvious need to those who believe in elderly rights, many insurance companies and nursing home lobbyists are working diligently to try to kill the bill before it reaches the Senate. Since nursing homes have received the damage caps they believe are so important, it is imperative that they carry insurance. The elderly need and deserve the accountability afforded to them with the passage of HB 536. To read more about the nursing home legislation, please check out the link.

Illinois is one of the states that does not require nursing homes to carry liability insurance. We hope that new Illinois nursing home reform legislation will require homes to operate with insurance. The Chicago nursing home abuse attorneys at Levin & Perconti encourage people to ask if a nursing home carries insurance before entrusting a loved one to the facility. Researching a nursing home’s insurance information is an important step to ensuring your family members rights in the event of an injury caused by negligence.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, National Nursing Homes, How to choose a home, Legislation, Legislation

March 5, 2010

U.S. Supreme Courts Rules Nursing Home Resident has a Private Right of Action Under FNHRA

The U.S. Supreme Court has denied certioria in a case where the Third Circuit Court of Appeals said that a nursing home resident and Medicaid recipient may sue their facility under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violations of the Federal Nursing Home Reform Amendments (FNHRA). The plaintiff in the case was a nursing home resident and Medicaid recipient. After the victim wrongfully died her daughter filed a nursing home lawsuit against the facility under a §1983 action. The nursing home lawsuit claimed the facility violated the FNHRA by not providing proper care. The nursing home tried to commit the complaint by claiming that the FNHRA does not provide an enforceable right of action through §1983. They argued that FNHRA only sets forth requirements that a nursing facility must comply with in order to receive federal Medicaid funds. The district court did agree with the nursing home, and the victim appealed the ruling.

Luckily, the Third Circuit reversed the district court’s ruling and held that the FNHRA does give Medicaid recipients rights and remedies under §1983. Elder Law Answers reported that the appellate court reasoned that both as a nursing home resident and Medicaid recipient, the victim was an intended beneficiary of the FNHRA. The court believed that the language of the FNHRA laid out specific enforceable rights for victims of nursing home abuse. Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court denied the writ of certioria and rested on the Third Circuit’s ruling. They believe this will cause all nursing homes to rethink patient’s rights. The Chicago nursing home lawyers agree the rulings of both the Third Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court and thank them for their support of nursing home rights.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Abuse, Legislation, National Nursing Home News, Verdicts and Settlements

March 3, 2010

Staffing Ratios in Illinois Nursing Homes Must be Mandated

It has been well documented that nursing home staffing ratios and quality of care go hand in hand. According to a recent article from My Elder Advocate, sufficient nursing home staff are needed to ensure that residents have proper nutrition, disease management and that they are turned and repositioned frequently to prevent pressure sores. A 1996 study from the Institute of Medicine found that staffing ratios have a great effect on the nutrition of nursing home residents. Understaffed nursing homes are more likely to have patients who suffer from dehydration, malnutrition and associated conditions.

It is time that nursing home legislation reflect the need for greater staffing. Since the over 65 population will increase by 60% between 2004 and 2030, this is the time to enact such legislation. Nursing home legislation should require ratios to patients in order to ensure that there is sufficient staff to care for our aging population. Unfortunately, nursing home legislation to require ratios has not passed nationally. This is because people argue that this would increase the cost of running a nursing home. Yet, how can you put a price on patient care?

Studies show that raising staffing ratios can cut down on operating costs. It has also been found that understaffing in nursing homes does not help the nursing shortage. Many nurses refuse to work in nursing homes because of the poor working conditions prevalent in understaffed homes. Many nurses have changed professions or gone to part-time due to the poor working conditions. Therefore, new nursing home legislation must be enacted to ensure that there is proper care in all nursing homes, regardless of their monetary position. To read more on nursing home staffing, follow the link.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Legislation, Nursing Home Staff News

March 1, 2010

Nursing Home Arbitration Clauses Disadvantage Residents and Contribute to Substandard Care

According to the Arizona Daily Star, for-profit nursing homes have less staffing, cut costs and are typically lower quality than their non-profit counterparts. One study published in the American Journal of Public Health found that for-profit nursing homes are 46.5 times more likely to have deficiencies than non-profit homes. Perhaps, most troubling, is that to cut costs on legal expenses, these nursing homes ask residents and their families to sign agreements which shelter the nursing homes from lawsuits. These agreements are part of the paperwork that residents and their families must fill out at the time they are entering the nursing home facility. Entering a nursing home is often an emotional and stressful time for families and yet the nursing homes are asking these families to sign away their right to sue the facility should the nursing home mistreat their loved one. The arbitration agreements provide for binding “alternative dispute resolution” (ADR) which takes disputes into a private rather than the public legal system, forces residents and their families to give up their right to a jury trial decided by their peers, and gives nursing homes alone the right to pick the person who will judge the substandard care given to its residents. Furthermore, these agreements prevent any of the nursing home's violations, no matter how egregious, from becoming public information. When families unknowingly sign away their right to sue the facility, they likely have no concept of the degree of harm a nursing home can cause their loved ones due to nursing home abuse or neglect. Federal legislation has been proposed to invalidate these unjust and detrimental arbitration clauses. The Chicago nursing home abuse attorneys at Levin and Perconti support the proposed federal legislation and are working hard to make sure that substandard care at Illinois nursing homes will not be tolerated.

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Posted In: Legislation, Mandatory Binding Arbitration, Nursing Home Abuse

February 25, 2010

Nursing Home Provisions Present in White House Reform Bill

The new healthcare reform proposal contained a number of provisions that hold a significant interest in those concerned with long-term care professionals. The first is the Nursing Home Transparency and Improvement Act which would seek to assess nursing home quality and provide consumer information about facilities. The Elder Justice Act is another part of the bill that will greatly help improve the life of seniors. Also there is a provision that would require nursing homes to provide more stringent background checks on potential caregivers contained in the bill. This has been labeled the Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act. The president’s proposal will furthermore include incentives for home-and community-based care programs that will expand the senior care workforce. Finally, the bill contains the CLASS Act which creates a payroll deduction system for long-term expenses. To learn more about the long-term care legislation, please check out the McKnight’s newsletter.

Currently there are problems between the GOP and the Democrats on many of the provisions of the health care bill. Republicans are trying to block many of the provisions that would help improve elder care. This is important legislation that must be passed in order to better safety for nursing home residents. The NCCNHR has been working around the clock in order to ensure that this important legislation is passed. Currently, 51 votes are needed to pass in the Senate. The Chicago nursing home abuse attorneys at Levin & Perconti applaud NCCNHR and Sentor Herb Kohl of Wisconsin, chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging. Their hard work has hopefully made this important legislation a reality. In order to aid their efforts, please contact your Senator and voice your support for long-term health care legislation that would protect nursing home residents.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Legislation, National Legislation

January 23, 2010

Nursing Home Transparency Should be Part of Health Care Reform

NCCNHR is urging House and Senate leaders to ensure that nursing home transparency and improvement, along with requiring criminal background checks, are in both health care bills. Currently, the Elder Justice Act is in the Senate bill only. Advocates are working to ensure that this Act will be included in final health care legislation.

If passed, the legislation will include public disclosure of the entities that own, govern and operate nursing homes. There will also be more in-depth information on the Nursing Home Compare website. Training in dementia care for nursing assistants is also an important provision in the legislation and will improve care for nursing home residents who suffer from complex medical issues, such as dementia and Alzheimer's.

The Chicago nursing home attorneys at Levin & Perconti encourage you to contact your congressman and voice your support for the legislation that will help to protect families and individuals from nursing home abuse and neglect. To see more provisions of the nursing home bill, please click the link.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Legislation

January 19, 2010

Mandatory Arbitration Should be Banned from Nursing Homes

The American Association for Justice won a long fought battle when Congress banned defense contractors from including mandatory arbitration in their contracts. Now it is time for Congress to rule that binding arbitration should not be allowed in nursing home patient contracts. This is the centerpiece of the Arbitration Fairness Act of 2009. Oftentimes people are rushed and emotional when signing nursing home contracts. They oftentimes forget to look at every line of the 500-page document. There are many incidents when people are forced into arbitration. To learn more about the nursing home legislation, please click the link.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Legislation

January 18, 2010

Nursing Home Transparency Important Aspect of Health Care Reform

The most discussed legislation of late is the pressing health care reform bills currently being debated in Congress. Two important aspects of this legislation are nursing transparency and improvement and criminal background checks. Currently the Senate bill contains the Elder Justice Act and advocates are working to ensure that this is a provision that is included in the final legislation. The Nursing Home Transparency and Improvement Act will include Public disclosure of the entities that own, govern, operate and profit from nursing homes. It will also give those looking at nursing homes better information about the quality of care. Most importantly the bills authorize a new program of criminal background checks on long-term care workers who have access to residents or patients. The nursing home lawyers at Levin & Perconti greatly support this nursing home legislation.

Please contact your local congressman and voice your support for the Elder Justice Act. To find other ways to support this nursing home legislation, please visit the NCCNHR’s website.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Legislation

December 26, 2009

Health Care Reform Bill Contains Nursing Home Transparency and Elder Justice Act

The new Senate Health Care bill includes the nursing home transparency and improvement act and the elder justice act. This will ensure that criminal background checks are given to all long-term care workers. The House bill does not contain the Elder Justice Act. Since this bill is critical to decreasing elder abuse it is important that you contact your local Congressman and voice your support for the bill. To learn more about ways to help promote this nursing home legislation, please visit the NCCNHR’s website.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Legislation

December 23, 2009

New Legislation Makes it Difficult to obtain Nursing Home Negligence Evidence

Attorneys for the family of woman who froze to death on the roof of a hospital are asking a judge to sanction the state Health Department for refusing to turn over notes written by inspectors who found hospital errors after her death. The notes the family seeks were taken days after her wrongful death and resulted in a critical 22-page inspection report made public in January. The dispute reports stems from a rule change in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services enacted in late 2008. Attorneys say that the legislative changes deprive them of key evidence once available in wrongful death and negligence suits against hospitals and nursing homes. The rule has become a “substantial problem” across the country for attorneys pursuing claims against nursing homes and other heat facilities. This will make requests for records under the Freedom of Information Act drag out for years. To read more about the hindering legislation, please check out the link.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Legislation

December 14, 2009

Long-Term Care Stirs Health Care Debate

Embedded in the new health legislation being debated on the Senate floor is a major new federal insurance program for long-term care intended to help people who have cerebral palsy and multiple sclerosis. Advocates for elderly Americans and people with disabilities see the program as a long-overdue effort to address needs that will explode as baby boomers age. The nursing home legislation is meant for people with severe disabilities who want to live in the community, though the benefits could also be used to help pay for nursing home care or assisted living. Senator Tom Harkin stated that this is the next logical step after the Americans With Disabilities Act. It provides people with security and peace of mind. The Congressional Budget Office assumes that premiums would be $123 a month for benefits expected to average $65 a day. The amount of benefits would vary depending on the degree of the person’s disability. It would allow those with disabilities to live out their lives with decency and dignity. Please contact your US Senator and voice your support for this important nursing home legislation. To read more about how the nursing home legislation will help people with disabilities, please click the link.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Legislation

October 16, 2009

Call your Senator to Support Nursing Home Legislation

Recently the Senate Finance Committee passed a health care reform bill that contains the Nursing Home Transparency and Improvement Act, the Elder Justice Act, and the Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act are all in the massive Finance Committee bill. The nursing home transparency and criminal background checks are also in the House health reform bill, HR 3200. However, the bill still must be passed, thus support is still needed. The nursing home transparency, elder justice and background checks must not be weakened by amendments. Therefore, contact your senator and show your support for the nursing home legislation. Tell them that you are an advocate in your state for those who receive nursing home care. To read more about the nursing home legislation, visit the NCCNHR webpage.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, National Nursing Homes, Legislation

October 12, 2009

Senate Finance Committee to Vote on Health Care Reform Act including Elder Justice Act

The Senate Finance Committee is set to vote tomorrow, October 13, on health care reform. The bill includes nursing home transparency, background checks on LTC Workers and the Elder Justice Act. The Finance Committee bill will have to be merged with a bill already passed by the Senate HELP Committee. A key provision of the bill, disclosure of entities that provide financial guarantees of more than $50,000 to nursing homes, has already been stricken from the Finance bill even before the debate began. Please contact your local congressman to voice your support for the Elder Justice Act. To read more about the upcoming vote, please visit the NCCNHR’s website.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Legislation

October 8, 2009

Illinois Congresswoman Wins NCCNHR Policy Leadership Award

The National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care issues a Policy Leadership Award to a public official who has provided exemplary leadership in advancing quality of care and quality of life for residents receiving long-term care. This year’s recipient is U.S. Representative Janice D Schakowsky of Illinois. During her six terms in the Unites States House of Representatives, Representative Schakowsky has been a strong advocate for the quality long-term care and resident’s rights. In 2000, Ms. Schakowsky introduced the first bill to require nursing homes to meet the NCCNHR minimum staffing standards. Also, during the past two years, she has helped craft and include in the House health care reform legislation the Nursing Home Transparency and Improvement Act. This is the most comprehensive nursing home improvement bill since the Nursing Home Reform Act of 1987. She hopes to ensure that the Elder Justice Act and the Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention Act were included in health care reform in 2009. Levin & Perconti are proud to have a Representative that is such a wonderful advocate for nursing home rights. To read more about the Illinois senator, please click the link.

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Posted In: Illinois Nursing Homes, National Nursing Homes, Legislation, Useful publications

September 28, 2009

Nursing Homes are Allowed to Avoid Insurance

In 2007 a nursing home patient developed a pressure sore shortly after arriving at a nursing home. Inside Bay Area stated that once the pressure ulcer began to fester, he wasn’t moved, washed, monitored or treated with antiseptic. The bedsore erupted and surgeons had to remove his tailbone because the wound had festered without treatment. The infection ate away at the bone through to the marrow. The man is now suing the nursing home for nursing home abuse. However, the victim most likely won’t see more than a token settlement from the nursing home because the nursing home is not required to carry liability insurance. The amount of the nursing home abuse settlement he is likely to receive will most likely not be able to cover the cost of care that the victim needs. The homes can register as separate corporate entities, which is a common way to shield themselves and their profits. AARP spokesman Mark Beach said that every responsible business should have liability insurance, especially nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities. To read more about the liability insurance, please click the link.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Abuse, Legislation, Pressure Ulcers

September 28, 2009

Elder Justice Act of 2009

The US Congress has proposed the Elder Justice Act in the US Senate. The purpose of the Elder Justice Act is to ensure adequate public-private infrastructure to prevent, detect, treat, intervene in, and prosecute elder abuse, neglect and exploitation. Passage of the Elder Justice Act is NAELA’s top public policy priority for 2009. Please contact your local Senator to support the Elder Justice Act. To support the Elder Justice Act, please click the link.

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Posted In: National Nursing Homes, Legislation

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