As of July 2022, there were 15,178 Medicare- and Medicaid-certified nursing homes nationwide, of which 10,702 were for-profit nursing homes. More than 1.3 million people reside in Medicare and Medicaid certified nursing homes nationwide. Approximately two-thirds of those nursing homes are for-profit nursing homes, and the remaining one-third of nursing homes is comprised of nonprofit and Government-owned nursing homes.
CMS has an essential, ongoing responsibility to oversee nursing homes and shares with State agencies the responsibility for ensuring that nursing homes meet Federal requirements for quality and safety. CMS oversees the State process for certifying nursing homes and provides guidance to States regarding the survey process.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General has reported that COVID-19 had a devastating impact on Medicare beneficiaries in nursing homes during 2020, as 2 in 5 residents had or likely had COVID-19 in 2020. Also, more than 1,300 nursing homes had infection rates of 75 percent or higher during surge periods.
“Decades of OIG work on nursing homes has uncovered widespread challenges in providing safe, high-quality care. Our audits, evaluations, and investigations have raised concerns regarding staffing levels, background checks for employees, reporting of adverse events experienced by residents, and other issues.”
“Nursing homes should be environments that are free of harm. However, criminal and civil enforcement actions involving OIG have uncovered misconduct and grossly substandard care in nursing homes. Bad actors perpetrate criminal activity that targets nursing home residents. In other cases, substandard care can result in harm such as costly medical injury, unsafe conditions, and abuse and neglect of residents.”
OIG’s February 2019 report entitled CMS Guidance to State Survey Agencies on Verifying Correction of Deficiencies Needs To Be Improved To Help Ensure the Health and Safety of Nursing Home Residents (A-09-18-02000) found that seven of nine State agencies did not always verify nursing homes’ correction of deficiencies as required.
For 2013 through 2017, OIG found the following:
The top 10 of 340 deficiency types accounted for more than 40 percent of deficiencies;
The number of nursing home surveys and deficiencies slightly increased each year from 2013 through 2016, then slightly decreased in 2017;
Ninety-four percent of deficiencies had “less serious” ratings, and 6 percent of deficiencies had “more serious” ratings;
About 31 percent of nursing homes had a deficiency type that was cited at least five times during OIG’s review period;
Ten States accounted for half of the deficiencies identified.
OIG found 1,973 deficiencies among 98 nursing homes in its audits of 5 States’ oversight of nursing home compliance with Federal requirements for life safety (e.g., fire detection systems), emergency preparedness (e.g., evacuation plans), and infection control (e.g., procedures for ensuring immunizations).
In FY 2023, Medicaid Fraud Control Units reported 36 criminal convictions and 11 settlements or judgements related to patient abuse or neglect in nursing facilities, totaling nearly $11 million in recoveries.
So, how can you find nursing home claim lawyers near you?
If you or a loved one may have been injured (or worse) in a nursing home in the United States due to nursing home staff shortage, nursing home understaffing, nursing home pressure ulcer (nursing home bedsore), a nursing home infection, nursing home fall, nursing home aspiration, nursing home neglect, nursing home negligence, nursing home abuse, or the nursing home failing to properly care for a vulnerable adult, visit our website or call us toll-free in the United States at 800-295-3959 to find nursing home injury attorneys in your state who may assist you with your nursing home claim.
Turn to us when you don’t know where to turn.