Stiffer penalties on shoddy nursing homes sought

By Kim Dixon

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senators said on Thursday they will seek stiffer sanctions against nursing homes delivering shoddy care and require clear ownership information from homes acquired by private equity groups.

The bipartisan legislation would give more enforcement power to the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which oversees state inspections of the nation's 16,400 nursing homes and also pays for the care of many poor and elderly residents.

"Under the current system, nursing homes that are not providing good care can escape penalty from the government while they slip in and out of compliance with federal regulations," said Sen. Herb Kohl, chairman of the Senate's Special Committee on Aging, at a hearing on Thursday.

Kohl, a Wisconsin Democrat, is crafting legislation with Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican, that would give CMS the ability to levy higher fines against shoddy nursing homes and to intervene more quickly to ensure resident safety.

The bill would also address growing concern about increased ownership of nursing homes by private equity firms, amid media reports that such ownership leads to poor quality care. The measure would require public reporting of ownership information, including affiliates, and deny payments for new residents until problems are fixed.

Private equity firms typically buy companies, cut costs and resell them later at a profit.

Lawmakers cited a September 23 New York Times story that said after private equity firms bought certain nursing homes, the number of safety violations rose, budgets and staff were cut, and patient care suffered.

Similar concerns were voiced at a separate hearing held on Thursday by a U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means subcommittee.