New Regulations Protect Families

McKnight’s reported that the Trump Administration has changed the rules in how nursing homes can charge patients and their family members. CMS, the overseer of Medicare and Medicaid, will protect families from having to pay when vulnerable adults lose coverage or run out of money. In the past, nursing homes were permitted to demand money from family members or other financial representatives of patients if patients cannot pay.

This has led to family members drowning in debt and loads of unexpected expenses after their relative passes away and nursing homes surprise them with demands in payment. CMS has finally done something to combat this issue, likely after hundreds of lawsuits against nursing homes regarding this issue have taken place. Now, nursing homes can no longer require or enforce such family-payment guarantees. This includes family voluntary guarantees.

Whereas nursing homes forced family members or legal representatives to sign paperwork agreeing to manage the patient’s finances or pay their bills, facilities will no longer hold family members financially responsible for their relative’s financial obligations. The old way prioritized profit for the nursing home regardless of the unethical ways it punished family members. This new way works to protect family members from the aggressive and deceitful nature of nursing home facilities. The contracts that existed to promote facilities’ excessive greed are now unenforceable. If nursing homes continue to include such outdated language (such as “payment guarantees”)  in their contracts, they risk penalties such as citations or fines.

Further, while facilities may still ask financial representatives to pay the bills if the nursing home resident fails to, facilities cannot enforce this agreement.

It’s a shame that it’s taken so long for such laws to come into effect, but this new regulation is a massive win for anyone who is, or knows someone, in a nursing home. After decades of lying to and deceiving family members, Americans can now feel a bit more relieved when assisting their loved ones with long-term care. This is unless nursing facilities take CMS to court to try to win back their rights to excessive greed…