As the skilled nursing industry is beset by crippling staffing shortages, inflation costs, and increased government oversight in an already highly regulated field, operators must be proactive in shielding themselves from litigation risk. Risk is coming from a multitude of different places, according to experts at a Zimmet Healthcare Services Group webinar on Thursday, and […]
Category: Litigation
Rising costs in all areas of running a nursing home — not just labor — are squeezing profit margins, compelling providers to adjust operations, make investments and pursue innovations in a quest for greater efficiencies. While skilled nursing facility operators try to get a grip on labor shortages, workforce costs surged by as much as […]
California operator Mariner Health Care Inc. was issued a preliminary injunction on Friday for 19 of its buildings, for allegedly violating federal and state laws over a five-year period. Mariner was understaffing its facilities and subjecting patients to negligent care, according to allegations filed by Rob Bonta, state Attorney General and District Attorneys of Alameda, […]
After divesting of its sizable portfolio over the course of several years, SavaSeniorCare will cease to exist as a company once its last five nursing homes transition to other operators, which the company expects to occur by the end of January 2023. The end of Atlanta-based Sava marks another sea change in the skilled nursing […]
Improving nursing home oversight and quality will be “top priority” for the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG), as the Biden administration pushes ahead with its reform initiatives. “My top priority is propelling meaningful improvement in the quality and safety of care in the more than 15,000 Medicare- and […]
In an upset for the nursing home industry, the U.S. Supreme Court this week declined to hear a bid from California operator Glenhaven Healthcare to avoid a lawsuit under federal immunity provisions. The case hinged on the scope of the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act), which authorizes the federal government to shield […]
The nation’s top court heard arguments in a case this week involving a state-owned nursing home in Indiana. While it remains to be seen what the Supreme Court’s justices will decide, several members of the court were uncertain whether nursing home Medicaid residents could sue to enforce their rights or if they should pursue other […]
Larger implications surrounding a nursing home case to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 8 has both operators and civil rights activists anxiously awaiting a decision. For SNF operators, the case could determine whether state-owned nursing homes are shielded from federal lawsuits. Far-reaching questions regarding Medicaid beneficiaries and their rights in federal […]
A case that could determine whether state-owned nursing homes are shielded from federal lawsuits filed by residents will be heard by the nation’s top court in just a few weeks despite calls from activists and lawmakers to dismiss the case entirely. While members of Health & Hospital Corp. of Marion County, the county’s public health […]
After facing closure and revoked federal dollars, one of the largest nursing homes in the country this week had a change in fortune. Officials agreed to grant San Francisco-based Laguna Honda Hospital & Rehabilitation an extended reprieve to keep its doors open and funding flowing. Updates follow negotiations between the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid […]
As a flurry of regulations and mandates descend upon the nursing home sector, such changes could create legal obstacles, and suggest yet another difficult and onerous year for providers. Staffing mandates, the aftermath of the end of the public health emergency (PHE), Covid liability and the PREP Act, all create “existential threats” for skilled nursing […]
The nation’s highest court has declined to weigh in on a case involving a federal arbitration rule that nursing home industry groups argue places “burdensome” requirements on facilities. The U.S. Supreme Court denied the petition on Monday for a writ of certiorari in the case of Northport Health Services of Arkansas, LLC v. Department of […]
A case to determine if state-owned nursing homes are shielded from federal lawsuits – to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in November – received more than 20 amicus briefs last week. The flood of briefs filed in September are in support of Ivanka Talevski, wife of former nursing home resident Gorgi Talevski, suing […]
The U.S. Supreme Court will have to decide whether it will hear a nursing home Covid-19 wrongful death case involving the PREP Act — potentially interpreting the federal statute for the first time. California-based nursing home operator Glenhaven Healthcare asked the Supreme Court to consider taking up the case in late August after the 9th […]
The federal government this week announced a settlement with a Massachusetts operator over allegations that the company discriminated against residents with opioid use disorder (OUD). Next Step Healthcare, which operates 21 SNFs in the state, allegedly denied admission to 548 patients who were prescribed medications for OUD, according to a statement issued by U.S. Attorney’s […]
Many nursing home operators said their property and personal liability insurance premiums increased between June and July – sometimes dramatically. In fact, professional liability premiums rose “significantly,” according to 30% of nursing company respondents to the latest National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC) Executive Insights survey. Lack of competition in the insurance […]
Nursing home providers could be cited by surveyors for noncompliance – and issued civil monetary penalties – as part of updated guidance tied to arbitration agreements published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). This approach is subject to scrutiny and appears to contradict previous federal efforts to make arbitration readily available to […]
The owner of seven Louisiana nursing homes was arrested this week on felony charges in connection with the death of residents who were evacuated to a warehouse before Hurricane Ida last year. Bob Glynn Dean, Jr. has been charged in Tangipahoa Parish with eight felony counts of cruelty to persons with infirmities, five felony counts […]
As the nursing home workforce emergency worsens across the country, aging services organizations are pushing back on “illegal and unconstitutional” staffing laws. LeadingAge New York, for example, on Monday filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn two state mandates: one requiring a minimum staffing ratio and another which dictates where nursing homes may direct their funds. […]
Massachusetts will pay $56 million to the families of veterans who died or residents who got COVID-19 at a state-run nursing facility for veterans center, as part of a settlement agreement. The estates of veterans who died during the outbreak at the Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke in 2020 are expected to receive a minimum award […]
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