FFBC Update 2-16-2012

Nursing home profits soar while residents suffer

Profitability in nursing homes is running high despite operator claims that Medicare and Medicaid rollbacks are ravaging their industry. 

Steve Monroe, Senior Care Investoreditor, says "any thoughts of the demise of the SNF acquisition market have been grossly exaggerated."

And with some facility beds now selling at $95,000 per bed (mind you, the record was set last year at $62,500 per bed), it looks as though the good times are here again for operators.

Meanwhile, subpar care continues unabated in far too many facilities.  

Let's hope nursing home companies will invest some of those earnings into hiring more staff.  Doing so will only increase the quality of care and decrease the threat of lawsuits.

Our parents and grandparents deserve better.

Some bad legislation on deck for FL nursing home residents

In the shadows of significant assisted living facility reform gaining steam in the Senate, some Florida lawmakers are poised to reduce nursing home regulatory oversight.   

House Bill 621, sponsored by Representative James Frishe (R-Belleair Bluffs), proposes that all nursing home Class III or IV violation revisits by the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) should be at the agency's discretion (even in those instances regarding care and rights).

While lawmakers believe this may help reduce state budgets and bottom lines, this could be catastrophic for residents.

A Class III AHCA violation means that nursing home conditions were such thatresidents could be potentially harmed.  Examples of these violations include: dehydrated residents, lack of incontinence care, insufficient staff, and even medication errors.  These types of complaints demand AHCA to return and determine if the facility actually corrected the problems.

Last year, 59% of the annual survey deficiencies and 45% of the complaint deficiencies warranted an AHCA follow-up.  It would not be prudent for the State to trust facilities to correct these serious deficiencies.  If this provision is removed, it is essentially sweeping AHCA out of nursing homes.

House Bill 621 is slated to be heard tomorrow in the Health and Human Services Committee.  Call members of the committee and demand strong nursing home enforcement; ask them to vote "no" on HB621.

Click here for committee members' contact information and meeting notice.