Irregularities in Nursing Homes Admission Procedures

The admission processes at nursing homes often prove to be complicated. Unfortunately, this means that these processes tend to be rife with problems and abuse. Whether this takes the form of manipulating the family and friends of residents into taking financial responsibilities that they can’t shoulder, or forcing residents to sign arbitration forms, this misconduct can have far-reaching consequences for residents and their loved ones. For help determining whether there was fraudulent activity in regards to your own relative’s nursing home admission, please reach out to one of our experienced Tulsa nursing home abuse lawyers today.

Taking on Financial Responsibility

Often, before admitting a new resident, nursing home administrators attempt to convince a family member to designate him or herself as a “responsible party.” In some cases, they will even refuse admission until this designation is made. Unfortunately, unless they look closely at the small print, a family member may be unaware that by assuming the role of responsible party, he or she is not merely agreeing to act as an emergency contact, but is actually taking on responsibility for the resident’s expenses. This type of conduct is, however, prohibited under federal law, which bars nursing homes from requiring a family member to take on the burden of a resident’s expenses.

Arbitration Agreements

There is a lot of paperwork involved in admitting a resident to a nursing home facility. All of these documents can be confusing, so it is not uncommon for a resident to be unaware of the rights that he or she is actually signing away. In some cases, for instance, nursing homes include agreements in their contracts, under which a resident is required to agree to arbitration in the event of a disagreement with the facility. By signing these contracts, residents may not know that they are actually giving up their right to take a case to court. Some nursing homes even make the signing of such waivers a mandatory part of gaining admission to a facility. This is, however, also prohibited by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Advocacy (CMS), which bars nursing homes from using arbitration agreements as a condition of admission.

Readmission After a Hospital Stay

When a nursing home resident is hospitalized, facilities are generally required to hold that person’s place for a certain period of time. Unfortunately, nursing homes don’t always respect these rules and may refuse to readmit a resident altogether. Federal law, however, gives Medicaid-eligible residents the right to readmission, even if a bed hold period is exceeded. In these cases, a nursing home must readmit the former resident to the next available bed. Facilities that fail to honor these rules could face repercussions from the state and be held liable by the wronged resident.

Do You Need Help Protecting the Legal Rights of a Loved One?

Both federal and state law require nursing homes to comply with specific procedures during the admission process. Unfortunately, many facilities fail to abide by these rules, which can have significant repercussions on a resident’s legal rights. To learn more about protecting your own loved one, please call 918-492-4433 and a member of our legal team will help you set up a complimentary consultation with one of the dedicated Tulsa nursing home abuse attorneys at Levinson Law, P.C. today.

Resource:

law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/42/483.15