There are many reasons why elderly persons wind up in nursing homes, including voluntary admittance to obtain assistance with rehabilitation after a hospital stay or problematic behaviors associated with various mental conditions such as dementia. In order to afford nursing home costs, many of these adults rely on Medicaid and Medicare. A nursing home may choose to discharge a person for various reasons, including their coverage is running out or they feel the patient is ready for release. However, if a resident is being discharged, the discharge can be challenged.
Category: Elder Law
Tanya Hobson Williams’ New York Elder Law Blog
Judge Decides Not to Dismiss Case Against Nursing Home
Eladia Ciprian, an 80-year-old patient at St. Barnabas Rehabilitation and Continuing Care Center, will not have her case dismissed for the center’s failure to correctly diagnose and treat a hematoma in her right bicep. A Bronx County Supreme Court judge decided not to dismiss the case after the center claimed she made no proof of the nursing home’s neglect or deprivation of her rights.
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Changes to the ABLE Act
The federal government passed the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act in December 2014. The ABLE Act allows the family of a disabled person to create a federal income-tax-free account to be used for the medical expenses of the disabled individual. This law was created under the same provisions of the tax code as 529 plans for college savings. According to Autism Speaks, the National Disability Institute estimates that there are 58 million individuals in the United States who have a qualified disability.
Will the State Enforce Mandatory Arbitration Clauses in New York Nursing Homes?
The use of arbitration clauses by companies in all aspects of daily living has spread immensely across the country. The United States Supreme Court has recently held that the use of arbitration clauses is fully enforceable, and nearly impossible to overturn. With that being said, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has limited the use of these clauses by implementing a new rule that restricts any nursing home receiving federal funding from requiring residents to resolve disputes in arbitration rather than in court. While the rule does not forbid arbitration completely, it does restrict the use of pre-dispute binding arbitration agreements. The rule will take effect over all nursing home admissions agreements signed after November 28, 2016.
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Antibiotic Usage in Nursing Homes Linked to Serious Health Problems
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), up to 70% of nursing home residents are prescribed antibiotics during the course of any given year, ranging in cost between $38 million to $137 million per year. Recently, the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) released the results of a study that linked the high usage of antibiotics in nursing homes to many health problems such as gastroenteritis, clostridium difficile, and resistance to superbugs, drug-resistant germs.
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New York Required to Hand Over Records on Disabled Patients
On March 18, 2016, U.S. District Court Judge Gary Sharpe ruled that the Cuomo administration and New York’s Justice Center must disclose records related to the abuse of disabled and mentally ill patients in the State’s care. Disability Rights New York (DRNY) has requested records involving disabled youths and adults who were allegedly abused, on multiple occasions but all of the requests were denied.
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The Musical Icon Prince May Have Died Without a Will
According to documents obtained by People Magazine, Prince did not have a Last Will and Testament. Prince’s sister Tyka Nelson filed an Emergency Petition in a Minnesota Court seeking the appointment of a Special Administrator.
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Protecting Loved Ones from Elder Abuse
Finding professional and caring home care services for an elderly family member can be challenging. Families express concerns over the prevention of elder abuse and how they can protect a loved one’s legal rights. Seeking advice from an experienced elder law attorney can help you make the right decisions when it comes to your elderly loved ones.
Caregivers Kept in the Loop with NY CARE Law
The Caregiver Advise, Record and Enable Act (CARE), signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo on October 14, 2015, has been fully enacted as of January 7, 2016. The law requires hospitals to allow a caregiver to be added to a patient’s record when being admitted. The law goes further in requiring hospitals to keep the caregiver well informed about how to care for the patient, even training the caregiver before the patient is discharged.
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Operation Cocoon
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Customs and Border Protection Agency are working together to combat a new trend of drug traffickers who fool seniors into becoming international drug mules. Traffickers either forge a relationship with seniors or promise inheritance or other monetary incentives. In targeting the elderly, traffickers hope that the drugs pass through security undetected. This scheme has worked to some degree because eighty-three U.S. citizens who fell victim to drug trafficking tricks have been arrested in foreign countries since 2013.
