CAUTION! Is your Nursing Home Insured?
I read a February 23rd article in The Wall Street Journal regarding seniors and families deciding whether and when to move into assisted living or other elder care environment with great interest. (Link to WSJ here).
As an attorney who advocates for seniors who are placed in facilities, I keep trying to shine the spot light on two troubling issues regarding long term care facilities.
First, there is no requirement under Medicare or Medicaid that nursing homes or assisted living facilities carry liability insurance and, in fact, many homes in California chose to "go bare". This leaves victims of elder abuse without meaningful compensation. But more importantly, the public is totally unaware of this fact. They assume if a person needs insurance to drive a car, surely they need insurance to care for the elderly, but this is just not so. Part of my mission is to educate the public. Families facing the decision where to place their loved ones need to be counseled to ask the question whether the facility is properly insured in case of malpractice or neglect. Responsible business owners, just like responsible drivers, carry insurance.
Second, there are now many "referral agencies" which promise to counsel families on appropriate placement options, but really do nothing to "vet" the quality of care, whether the facility is properly insured, or even to comment on whether the level of care would be appropriate. Rather, these companies are basically selling "leads" without any substantive assessment of the elder's care needs or assessment of proper fit. A prime example in California of an improper placement would be referring an elder with dementia who requires assistance with every daily activity (from getting out of bed, to eating, bathing, dressing, grooming, etc.) to an assisted living facility (as opposed to a nursing home.) This referral is improper because California law prohibits someone with care needs this high from admission to an assisted living facility. Again, the general public is not aware of the limitations on care that assisted living facilities can provide, particularly if they advertise they have "nursing" staff on premises. Careful assessment of care needs must occur prior to placement to ensure a good "fit". Just because a nurse is on staff doesn't mean the facility will render nursing care.
