Recently, five former health care workers at a nursing home facility were convicted of several crimes in connection with the death of a 72 year old rehabilitation patient. A respiratory therapist and three nurses were sentenced to various jail terms and probation for the attempted cover–up of the circumstances surrounding the patient’s death. In addition, another respiratory therapist entrusted with the patient’s care was convicted of criminally negligent homicide.
Category: Elder Law
Tanya Hobson Williams’ New York Elder Law Blog
Nursing Home Employee Indicted on Charges Related to Resident Trust Account Theft
The New York State Attorney General recently announced that a former employee of a nursing home has been arrested and indicted on 24 counts related to stealing over $6,000 from a nursing home trust fund. The indictment alleges Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree; two counts of Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree; and seven counts of Petit Larceny for incidents occurring between April 2013 and February 2014.
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The Care Planning Act of 2015
The U.S. Senate introduced a bill that would allow doctors to be reimbursed by Medicare for providing end of life planning advice to their patients. This bill is called “The Care Planning Act,” and it would amend title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act. This legislation resulted from findings that because Americans are living longer, they are also facing more serious conditions later in life. The goal of the Act is to ensure that aging individuals with advancing illnesses understand their treatment options and can assist in making their health care choices before losing capacity. Previously, Medicare would not reimburse qualified health care professionals for this type of counseling.
New Federal Nursing Home Rating System Causes Lower Scores
Choosing a nursing home for yourself or your loved one can be challenging and emotionally taxing. With so many stories about nursing home abuse and neglect, it can take a lot of research to find a location you feel comfortable with. However, even the pricey nursing homes may not have the nicest accommodations or provide the best health care. A few weeks ago, the federal government put a new nursing home rating system into effect. The goal is to provide a more accurate rating system for nursing homes that reflects the quality of accommodation and care the residents receive. Approximately 80% of the nursing homes originally received 4 or 5 star ratings based on the old criteria. However, the ratings were mostly inaccurate due to the lack of specificity and different criteria of the previous rating system.
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Seniors Feel the Effects of Inflation in Health Care Costs
A recent article on WealthManagement.com has reported that seniors feel the effects of inflation more than the rest of the population. Research shows that a major reason for this is due to the rising costs of healthcare. Although over the last three years, the costs of Medicare have tapered off due to the Affordable Care Act, J.P. Morgan Wealth Asset Management expects that Medicare costs will shift toward increasing 6.1% annually over the next twenty years. This means that a 65 year old paying $4,400 a year now will be spending $17,000 annually at age 85.
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Nursing Homes Using Guardianship Rights to Collect Debts
The New York Times recently exposed several startling scenarios in which nursing homes have attempted to gain guardianship rights over residents in an effort to collect payment. According to research done by Hunter College, the practice of nursing homes filing for guardianship of residents is becoming increasingly common. In the last ten years, out of 700 guardianship cases brought to court in Manhattan alone, 12% were filed by nursing homes.
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Elderly Misuse of Antipsychotics: A Disturbing National Trend
A recent National Public Radio (NPR) investigation revealed that nearly 20 percent of senior nursing home residents receive some form of antipsychotic medications.
Similar reports, drawing from the NPR investigation, found significantly higher rates of antipsychotic drug usage concentrated in the Western New York area. In the Rochester region, data revealed that antipsychotic drug usage rates reached up to 30 percent.*
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Nursing Homes Attempt to Lure in More Medicare Patients to Increase Profit
A recent exposé by the New York Times revealed that as nursing homes revamp their facilities to include luxury living quarters, the disparity between the lavish amenities of short term accommodations, and the quality of care can be drastic. Although nursing homes are attempting to lure in patients whose short stays will be funded by Medicare dollars, in lieu of Medicaid, many patients are being discharged from the facilities before they have been rehabilitated. Or worse yet- they leave with more medical issues than they had upon admittance.
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Proposed Rules to Retirement Savings Investments Require More Transparency from Brokers
After four years of planning, federal regulators of the U.S. Labor Department proposed rules that would strengthen the protection of those investing their retirement money. The new rules would require that brokers owe a stronger fiduciary duty to their clients. Currently, the rules are vague and use ambiguous language, allowing brokers to skirt around the guidelines and in many instances, put their own investment interests first.
Proposed Changes to VA Pension Eligibility Rules
The Department of Veterans Affairs has proposed new rules affecting VA pension eligibility that would place restrictions on asset transfers with a penalty period that could last up to a decade; limit home lot sizes to two acres; and cap home health care expenses. The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and veterans advocates believe the enactment of this proposed rule could cause severe harm to veterans in need of long term care, and their families. The new rules are more restrictive than Medicaid by disallowing the use of trusts and annuities as long term care planning tools.
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