Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Minn. Officials Worry Rollback Of Nursing Home Penalties Could Undercut Recent Crackdown On Abuse
The Star Tribune: Trump Policy Shift Endangers Minnesota's Crackdown On Elder Abuse
The Trump administration is taking steps to roll back federal penalties on nursing homes violating health and safety rules, a policy shift that’s alarming state officials and advocates for the elderly who say it could undercut Minnesota’s emerging moves to crack down on violence and criminal abuse in senior homes. In recent months, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has directed its regional offices to ratchet back some Obama-era enforcement practices that the nursing home industry has found most onerous. The new directives are likely to reduce both the number and severity of monetary penalties, even for violations that lead to serious injury or death. (Serres, 1/7)
In other nursing home news —
Kaiser Health News: Care Suffers As More Nursing Homes Feed Money Into Corporate Webs
In what has become an increasingly common business arrangement, owners of nursing homes outsource a wide variety of goods and services to companies in which they have a financial interest or that they control. Nearly three-quarters of nursing homes in the United States — more than 11,000 — have such business dealings, known as related party transactions, according to an analysis of nursing home financial records by Kaiser Health News. ... But these arrangements offer another advantage: Owners can establish highly favorable contracts in which their nursing homes pay more than they might in a competitive market. Owners then siphon off higher profits, which are not recorded on the nursing home’s accounts. (Rau, 12/31)
