The Federal Nursing Home Reform Act (NHRA) Protects Nursing Home Residents and Their Loved Ones from Abuse and Neglect Injuries
Nursing homes across the country, and especially here in Indiana and Illinois, are infamous for substandard, horrific treatment of elderly residents entrusted to their care. Consider the concerns voiced in our earlier discussions, including:
- Nursing Home Abuse in Indiana and Illinois: Abuse, Neglect, Exploitation of the Elderly
- 2019 Senate Report List Reveals Worst Nursing Homes in Indiana and Illinois.
Evictions of Nursing Home Residents to Make Room for COVID-19 Patients
This week, the New York Times revealed that nursing homes across the country are evicting elderly nursing home residents, in violation of federal protections regarding notice and placement. Read, “They Just Dumped Him like Trash: Nursing Homes Evict Vulnerable Residents,” written by Jessica Silver-Greenberg and Amy Julia Harris and published by the New York Times on June 23, 2020.
Why? Apparently, hospitals are re-routing more and more COVID-19 patients to nearby nursing homes for care and treatment. These Coronavirus victims are of all ages and income-brackets. Most are able to provide payment to the care facility that exceeds the regimented reimbursement schedules of Medicare and Medicaid.
Nursing homes have a financial predisposition to take in residents who will pay them the most for their services. If the COVID-19 patients bring more profit, then many of these nursing home care centers are choosing patients based upon their bottom line. They are exchanging residents who are covered by federal benefit programs like Medicare and Medicaid for Coronavirus victims who generate more revenue.
As the New York Times’ article explains, another horrific consequence of the Coronavirus Pandemic appears to be Nursing Homes removing elderly residents from their facility and relocating them to dangerous places, like rundown motel rooms.
Residents are displaced and endangered simply because the nursing home wants to make more money with higher-paying COVID-19 patients.
As we have warned before, nursing homes in Indiana and Illinois and elsewhere in the United States operate for profit. Abuse and neglect of residents may be the result of a profit-making priority. See, e.g.:
- New Online Warning for Nursing Home Abuse or Neglect: Indiana and Illinois Both Rank “Bottom of the Barrel”
- Coronavirus: Nursing Homes in Indiana Reported to Have Almost Half of all COVID-19 Deaths
- Indiana Nursing Homes Should Call the Closest EMS in Emergencies, But They’ve Been Known to Choose the Cheaper Option.
Coronavirus Exposure: Unsafe Food Preparation in Nursing Homes
Moving Coronavirus patients into a facility where the most vulnerable residents will be all the more at risk of COVID-19 exposure is shocking. However, the shocking treatment of nursing home residents by management and corporations more concerned with patient revenue than patient care is almost synonymous with this industry.
Consider last fall’s revelations from advocacy group Fair Warning regarding nursing home kitchens and food preparation. In an article entitled “Bugs, Mold and Unwashed Hands: Rampant Safety Violations in Nursing Home Kitchens Endanger Residents,” written by Marjie Lundstrom and published by Fair Warning on October 3, 2019, the results of its five month investigation into nursing home food kitchens were revealed.
Mere months before the Coronavirus Pandemic, Fair Warning was exposing a widespread problem of hazardous food issues in nursing home facilities.
Nursing home residents are not only vulnerable to the abuse and neglect issues we have warned about previously, but they are also at risk for a serious or fatal injury because of foodborne illnesses due to unsanitary conditions.
The question must be asked: are even more nursing home residents going to be exposed to COVID-19 through improper food preparation or meal service now that Coronavirus patients are being moved into our nursing home facilities?
Of note: the Fair Warning article points out that both Illinois (4th) and Indiana (10th) made the Top Ten List in 2018 for the Most Enforcement Actions for Violations of Federal Food Safety Standards for Nursing Homes.
Federal Nursing Home Reform Act: Compliance Is Mandatory to Get Benefits
The federal Nursing Home Reform Act (NHRA) (42 U.S. Code § 1395i–3) applies to any nursing home accepting either Medicare or Medicaid payments. If the facility accepts proceeds from either of these federal health care benefit programs, then it must conform to federal regulations. Funding is dependent upon compliance with the NHRA.
- Nursing home resident rights can be found in 42 Code of Federal Regulations § 483.10(g)(14);
- Their admission, transfer, and discharge rights are found in 42 Code of Federal Regulations § 483.15(c).
Oversight of the facilities is placed upon each state. The programs Medicare (MC) and Medicaid (MD)) pay the State of Indiana and the State of Illinois to make sure that nursing homes receiving federal benefits are meeting federal standards. The states receive compensation to perform the duties of enforcing federal law and certifying compliance.
If a nursing home is discovered to be providing substandard care in violation of the NHRA and the corresponding federal regulations (CFRs), then federal law provides for monetary fines, increased monitoring, and even removal from the MC or MD programs.
Over the past three years, civil monetary penalties collected from Illinois totaled $7,672,365.00, with Indiana paying $7,597,365.00 according to a compilation by Families for Better Care using data from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Private Legal Action after Improper Nursing Home Care in Indiana or Illinois
However, the reality is that too many nursing homes are failing to meet NHRA standards without consequence. The fines and regulatory oversight procedures are not protecting residents sufficiently. The above revelations by the New York Times and Fair Warning make it obvious that all too often nursing home management disrespects both the resident and the regulations in order to maximize revenue.
The availability of a civil lawsuit filed against the nursing home in Indiana or Illinois may be the only viable avenue for justice for the nursing home resident and their loved ones.
Residents and their loved ones may be able to obtain relief from the nursing home in the form of medical bills, physical rehabilitation, psychological therapy, pain and suffering, and expenses allowing for home health care, family caregivers, or relocation to another care facility of their choice.
Victories in these cases may have the additional advantage of helping the circumstances of other residents by discouraging substandard care at the facility in the future.
For more on nursing home litigation, see:
- Suing Nursing Homes: Tragic Rise in Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect
- Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect in Illinois and Indiana: Finding Justice
- Nursing Home Injury Claims for Victims in Indiana and Illinois.
If you or a loved one have been the victim of abuse or neglect in a nursing home or care facility in Indiana or Illinois, then there may be a private cause of action available to you against its owners and management for the harm they have caused. Awareness of your legal rights is particularly vital during the current Coronavirus Pandemic. Please be careful out there!
