December 2011 Archives

It is easy to forget that most Maryland nursing homes were mom-and-pop shops. The beginning of the end was in 1965 when President Johnson successfully passed Medicare and Medicaid legislation which meant that governement would begin footing the bill for many nursing home residents. Like day follows night, so too did investor money.

There is no question that some of these mom-and-pop nursing homes were downright horror shows.  Some of the abuse and neglect stories would make today's nursing home game seem too good to be true.  But there was also a lot of great care when people, instead of corporations, were running the show.

Now, we have less nursing home atrocities but we have standardized marginal care.  The first problem is the lack of human touch.  If you live in my house, I realize the buck stops with me.  In a nursing home, everyone passes the buck.  This complacancy is coupled with a profit incenitve to provide the most expensive nursing home care possible at the lowest possible cost.   With so many nursing homes taking Medicare, you can't increase revenues.  So you can only increase cost. 

These problems manifested themselves quickly.  Here is a Baltimore Sun article from 1970 wherein Ralph Nadar is already sounding the alarm.  Congress saw it, too, and enacted legislation in the late 60s and early 70s to combat the problem.  But, not unlike 2011, the bills that got passed were watered down versions of what they should have been.  So instead of focusing on residents' care, these bills mostly focused on facility maintenance.  So nursing homes continued to run largely amok.  Nursing home in Maryland complain the problem is nursing home lawyers which is really failing to meet Step 1 in the 12 step process.  The actual reality is that nursing home lawsuits in Maryland - with exceptions to be sure - are a part of the solution, not the problem.  

The federal government is trying a different tactic now and trying to push Medicare recipients away from institutional care and towards home based care.  One government incentive program would likely require Maryland to raise its share of Medicare funding for long-term, non-institutional care from 38 percent to 50 percent over the next few years. 

Great idea.  But in the short run, nursing homes are going to lose revenue.  What are they likely to do?  Cut costs.  Which means even worse care for nursing home residents. 

If you or someone you know is caught up in this mess and needs Maryland nursing home lawyer, call 800-553-8082 or get a free online consultation.