Show #263 Airing: Sunday, July 18, 2004
I’m going to tell you something that may surprise you. Or then again, maybe it won’t.
Nursing homes sometimes tell lies. Not all nursing homes, and not all the time. But this happens way more than it should. So today I’m going to expose five of the most dangerous lies. If you understand that these are falsehoods, you shouldn’t be misled.
Note that I’m not making these up. These are drawn from a national report done by Eric Carlson of the National Senior Citizens Law Center, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization.
Nursing Home Lie #1: We can’t admit your parent unless you sign as “Responsible Party.”
This is an attempt by the nursing home to make children responsible for their parents’ nursing home charges. You can understand why the nursing home would like this financial guarantee. Only problem is that it’s illegal. Federal law prohibits a nursing home from requiring a child to guarantee payment for a parent.
Nursing Home Lie #2: We can’t continue therapy services because the patient is not making progress.
The nursing home may blame Medicare, saying that Medicare won’t pay unless the patient is making progress. This is false for several reasons. Most important, the facility is required by federal law to try to maintain a resident’s condition, so that the resident’s ability to walk, talk, dress or undertake other daily activities do not diminish. That’s the rule even if the patient is no longer making progress, and regardless of whether or not Medicare will continue to pay.
Nursing Home Lie #3: Since the patient is no longer eligible for Medicare, he must leave his Medicare-certified bed.
Take a close look at the bed your spouse or parent is in. There’s no stamp or certification from Medicare anywhere, not on the sides, not even under the bed. The nursing home has no right to move a resident to a different bed in the facility just because the resident’s Medicare eligibility has run out. The resident has the right to refuse a transfer.
Nursing Home Lie #4: The patient must have a feeding tube because he’s not eating.
Federal law requires the facility to help a resident to maintain the ability to eat on his own. A facility should try prompting the resident to eat, providing therapy to improve swallowing skills, or feeding the resident. But all these steps take work, time, and effort by the staff. Nursing homes sometimes are too quick to recommend a feeding tube when less extreme but more time consuming steps would work. Demand that they document their efforts to try all the other options first.
Nursing Home Lie #5: We don’t have to readmit the patient from the hospital because his “bed hold” period has expired.
Nursing homes sometimes try to take unfair advantage when a resident temporarily leaves to go to the hospital. Maybe the nursing home doesn’t like the resident because he demands good care and attention. Or perhaps the resident’s on Medicaid and the nursing home would rather replace him with a higher paying private pay patient.
Generally, the State of Ohio says the nursing home has to take a patient on Medicaid back within 30 days. And even after that, federal law says a nursing home must readmit a patient on Medicaid if the facility has an available bed.
Nursing homes sometimes lie to patients and their families. And when they do, it can cost you money and create terrible burdens for you and the family. Knowing the truth, understanding your rights, that’s the best protection.
