Nursing Homes and their paid mouthpieces often cry broke in public. We are told they operate on small margins. It’s not that they don’t want to provide better care, they just can’t afford to. They argue that any new rules or regulations would put many nursing homes out of business and harm patients.
But it’s not true. Don’t take my word for it. Take their own word for it.
New York State recently passed a law that would cap profits for nursing homes at 5%, spend 70% of revenues on patient care, and 40% of revenues to staff providing healthcare to residents.
Nursing homes are desperate to avoid this law. So, it’s no surprise that a group of 250 New York Nursing homes banded together and filed a lawsuit seeking to block the new law in federal court. What was so interesting about this lawsuit though was the admission made in paragraph 7 of the complaint:
“…if the 5% profit cap and 70% / 40% spending ratios had been in effect and applied to nursing homes in New York State in 2019, the aggregate amount such facilities would have had to pay back to New York State would be approximately $824 million, of which approximately $313 million would be attributable to the 5% profit/surplus cap.”
What a shocking admission!
In other words, New York Nursing Homes suck almost a billion dollars out of the system annually to line their pockets. This money could be going to hire staff or improve conditions. Instead, it lines the pockets of those who own the homes.
This admission is particularly difficult for me to stomach given the cases of abuse and neglect that I see in my practice every day. Many facilities across the state are operating on shoe-string budgets and do not have adequate staff to meet the needs of their patients. Tragedies often ensue. Life and limb are lost.
Even if the nursing homes ultimately prevail in their suit and the law is sunk, you should not give up hope. Skilled attorneys can demonstrate when nursing homes are placing profits over people and hold them to account in a court of law. If you or someone you know has been the victim of abuse, neglect, or malpractice at a New York Nursing home, please contact us today.
