Biden Reverses Trump Policy Limiting U.S. Nursing Home Fines

By Robert Preidt
HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, July 30, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- The Biden medication has reversed a Trump argumentation that constricted the size of fines that U.S. nursing homes could beryllium slapped with for violating information standards.

The Trump argumentation was adopted successful 2017 and prevented the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) from hitting a nursing location with a good for each time it didn't comply with national standards.

That reduced galore penalties to a azygous fine, lowering full amounts from hundreds of thousands of dollars to a maximum of $22,000, The New York Times reported.

Many nursing homes cited for violations specified arsenic mediocre corruption controls, not protecting residents from avoidable accidents, neglect, mistreatment and bedsores, are repetition offenders, according to Toby Edelman, a elder argumentation lawyer astatine the Center for Medicare Advocacy.

Larger fines are a deterrent and are much apt to bespeak beardown enforcement of the rules, Edelman told the Times.

In aboriginal July, the Biden medication changed guidance connected the CMS website, saying it had "determined that the bureau should clasp the discretion astatine this clip to enforce a per-day punishment wherever due to code circumstantial circumstances of anterior noncompliance."

The caller argumentation means that regulators tin enforce either per-day oregon per-instance penalties, the Times reported.

Deaths successful nursing homes relationship for astir a 3rd of the wide COVID-19 decease toll successful the United States.

While there's been a crisp driblet successful COVID-19 deaths successful nursing homes since vaccines became available, inadequate staffing, shortages of protective instrumentality and mediocre corruption power are inactive problems, according to advocates and immoderate officials, the Times reported.

Federal information amusement that portion 81% of nursing location residents are vaccinated, lone 58% of workers are immunized, which increases the hazard of outbreaks adjacent among afloat vaccinated residents.

Fines levied connected a per-day ground "only instrumentality precious resources distant from an already underfunded industry, particularly during an unprecedented clip erstwhile nursing homes request each enactment to support their residents," the main manufacture commercialized group, the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living, said successful a statement, the Times reported.

More information

Visit the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality for much connected nursing location safety.

SOURCE: The New York Times