In 2016, nearly 11 percent of nursing home residents were sent to hospitals for conditions that might have been averted with better medical and staff oversight. This fiscal year, which runs October 2018 to September 2019, Medicare will implement a new system of accountability for nursing homes. To avoid hospital re-admissions of nursing home patients, medical will switch to a system of bonuses and penalties.
Through this fiscal year, the best-performing homes will receive 1.6 percent more for each Medicare patient than they would have otherwise. The worst-performing homes will lose nearly 2 percent of each payment. This move is intended to target nursing homes’ bottom lines.
Shifting financial incentives from the number of patients they house to the quality of care, Medicare is able to expand on its efforts to improve nursing homes.
Most nursing homes are for-profit and operate primarily on a basis of financial incentives. Therefore, it’s not uncommon to see nursing homes understaff their facilities and not provide care givers with the necessary tools and training to do their jobs.
The Dinizulu Law Group, Ltd. praises Medicare’s efforts to hold under-performing nursing homes accountable. We hope this strategy is successful in improving care for our elderly loved ones.
However, at the same time, we also need to address what will happen once under-performing facilities receive further budget cuts. After further Medicare cuts, will such facilities be even less motivated to hire or train adequate staff? And thus, will residents’ care in such facilities worsen?
While we won’t know these answers until we see the full effects of this Medicare policy, know that you can do something today if you or your loved one is suffering harm in a nursing home. There are legal options available right now that will hold the wrongful facility accountable and get the needed care for mom or dad. Schedule your free, initial consultation with the Dinizulu Law Group, Ltd. today. Our Chicago nursing home neglect attorneys have over 50 years of combined experience that we put to the test everyday fighting for injured victims. Contact us at 1 (312) 384-1920 or 1 (800) 693-1LAW, or by email.
