Hidden Agreement ABC’s WAS11 had a great article about the inherent unfairness of hidden arbitration clauses in facility admission paperwork. The article explains what happened to Kelli Stein’s mother June Lee. But the same thing happens every day to thousands of residents. Stein wants to reveal a deceptive unfair practice among nursing homes that takes
Reporting Data Federal regulators released vaccination data for individual nursing homes on the CMS COVID-19 Nursing Home Data website. Statistics for rates of vaccination among staff and residents should be current. Facilities must submit updated figures to avoid civil monetary penalties. Nursing homes will need to make major progress on resident and staff vaccine reporting
Private Equity Investors U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-NJ) is chairman of the House Ways and Means oversight subcommittee. He wrote a letter asking the Government Accountability Office to investigate the relationship between private equity investments and closed healthcare facilities. Private-equity has exploited the industry and siphoned taxpayer funds away from resident care. Pascrell cited increased surprise
More Bailouts Federal government stimulus funding such as the CARES Act allowed the nursing home industry to survive during the pandemic. Occupancy rates fell to the lowest level since data have been collected. The National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC) states the rate is only 71.7%. Occupancy declined 13.3 percentage points since February
Transparency Long-term care facilities must report weekly data on COVID-19 vaccination status for both residents and staff. The rule also requires providers to report the use of therapeutics administered to residents for treatment of COVID-19. The AARP Nursing Home COVID-19 Dashboard shows SARS-CoV-2-related deaths and cases in nursing homes decreased dramatically because of the vaccine.
Hesitancy Vaccination rates are poor. South Carolina ranks #46 for vaccination rates. But South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster declared the state of emergency over anyway. Eight of the 10 least-vaccinated states are in the South, a reflection of vaccine hesitancy, lack of education, and poor access to health care. McMaster persuaded only 46% of South Carolinians