Litigation tied to the use of independent contractors in the nursing home space has increased ever since the Department of Labor (DOL) in January cracked down on the criteria used to classify workers in the sector. Operators are being targeted, rather than the agencies supplying such staff, and the changes are bound to affect recruitment. […]
As a “chunk” of the nursing home sector teeters on the brink, the political will of the White House and the unions to implement the federal staffing mandate appears to be at odds with its practicality, affording the industry a chance to challenge it both legislatively and legally. This view was expressed by Ensign CEO […]
States are seeing in real time what a federal minimum staffing mandate may cost them, as a disagreement between Connecticut and its nursing homes has come to a head. The state owes its nursing homes $55 million for staffing requirements imposed between March 2023 and this past January when an enhanced version of the directive […]
Medicare fraudster Philip Esformes pleaded guilty on Thursday to health care fraud, laying to rest a longstanding effort to prosecute him after his 20-year sentence was commuted by former President Donald Trump. Esformes, previously convicted of one of the biggest Medicare frauds in 2019 for his involvement in a billion-dollar Medicare fraud scheme, pleaded guilty […]
Nursing home associations in Ohio have sued the state Department of Medicaid last week over a Medicaid rate that does not match what’s needed to meet quality incentives. Ohio’s rebasing process splits Medicaid funding into two categories, with 60% based on meeting certain quality incentives and 40% reserved for the “base rate,” or a calculation […]
An Illinois-based nursing home operator, which owns nearly 100 senior living properties across the state as well as others in Missouri and Iowa, faces legal challenges as prosecutors point to alleged unpaid loans. Petersen Health Care faces two foreclosure cases filed in the Illinois Northern District Court – litigation is linked to an alleged failure […]
In a major development for the nursing home industry, a plea agreement has been reached in the ongoing legal saga involving South Florida healthcare mogul Philip Esformes. Esformes, previously convicted in 2019 for his involvement in a billion-dollar Medicare fraud scheme, had his 20-year prison sentence commuted by former President Donald Trump in 2020, but […]
Two more nursing homes in New Jersey have their Medicaid funding suspended following allegations of massive fraud by the owners related to their New York facilities. Deptford Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare, and Hammonton Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare will lose their Medicaid funding on May 24, according to the Office of the State Comptroller […]
Iowa nursing homes may see cameras in resident rooms – with state legislators progressing a bill on the matter. The legislation will allow the use of “granny cams” despite many operator misgivings, providing families with a video feed of activity inside a resident’s room, according to a report published in the Iowa Capital Dispatch. Fourteen […]
More than 600 skilled nursing workers may be owed back wages across 25 Massachusetts facilities in 21 communities, owned by local operator Next Step Healthcare. The Department of Labor (DOL) filed a complaint in federal court alleging that various nursing home organizations intentionally withheld overtime wages for at least 624 employees, and failed to maintain […]
Many skilled nursing operators will need to reclassify their existing relationships with independent contractors and rethink future ones in the wake of a final rule issued by the Department of Labor (DOL) on Tuesday. The DOL’s new rule revises guidance on how to determine who is an employee and who is an independent contractor under […]
A new California law effective Wednesday will require nursing homes to offer residents copies of any information on their eviction, helping make appeals against the discharge easier to file. Evictions are one of the most common complaints reported to California’s Long Term Care Ombudsman programs, noted a report produced by CalMatters. In the past five […]
Pennsylvania operator Comprehensive Healthcare Management Services was found guilty in a sprawling health care fraud case, following a five-week federal trial in Pennsylvania, involving two of its facilities. Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center and Lebanon Rehabilitation and Wellness Center were found guilty of making false statements in connection with the payment of health care benefits […]
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) failed to block a $56 million deal between Pennsylvania operator Comprehensive Healthcare Management Services and Kadima Healthcare Group for seven properties, according to court documents. The parties convened before the U.S. District Judge William Stickman IV in September when Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su had asked for a […]
Comprehensive Healthcare may be forced to close unless the owners are allowed to sell seven nursing homes, according to a report on Wednesday from TribLive, the website of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Comprehensive currently operates 15 facilities. The seven facilities involved in the sale have a combined 747 beds, according to the report. The U.S. Department […]
With opioid abuse disorders on the rise and impacting millions of Americans, nursing homes have been important partners in drug treatment. And yet, denial of admission to residents with this condition has been an issue in the sector, given that the care of such residents is complex. Pennsylvania is one state that has decided to […]
A rising tide of civil lawsuits related to deaths from Covid-19 are being filed in New York against not only top state officials, but also nursing homes, as family members seek legal recourse. According to a report in the Times-Union newspaper, these cases have proceeded slowly as pre-trial arguments have focused, in part, on whether state […]
Some operators of nursing homes are paying higher reinsurance costs – a more litigious environment post Covid being among major factors – while grappling with uncertainty on how claims could impact their businesses. And this is especially true for one area of insurance for nursing homes – professional liability insurance. While not required by most […]
As government entities and organizations in the nursing home space are scrambling for policy changes to regulate staffing agencies, they seem to be prioritizing legislation that addresses price gouging while worker classification also remains on the table. The Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act) introduced in Congress in 2021 and currently being examined […]
Owners, operators and landlords of Centers Health Care in New York are facing a lawsuit filed by the state Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday, which alleges the four SNFs illegally misused more than $83 million in taxpayer money. Diverted funds went toward, among other things, funding the purchase of Israeli airline El Al, according […]
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