It’s upsetting when your older relatives are in failing health and need to go to a nursing home. That stress is compounded by illegal collection actions by nursing homes.
Even though federal law prohibits nursing homes from requiring a third party to guarantee payment of their loved one’s bill, nursing homes still frequently pursue payment from friends and family, a new report shows. Nursing homes have been suing residents’ children, siblings, spouses, and friends for alleged debts for decades, but have become more of aggressive in recent years.
Nursing home charges often cost more than $108,000 per year.
Aggressive and unlawful nursing home debt collection actions against residents’ family members, caregivers, and friends impose a significant financial and emotional strain, a survey by the National Consumer Law Center and Justice in Aging. Both groups are consumer advocacy organizations. They interviewed advocates in the consumer and aging fields who reported about debt collection practices they’ve seen used by nursing homes.
“When nursing homes attempt to hold residents’ family members and friends personally financially liable for residents’ unpaid bills they may be violating federal and state law,” Anna Anderson, staff attorney at the National Consumer Law Center and co-author of the report, said in a statement. “Nursing homes’ aggressive debt collection practices can lead to serious financial consequences for caregivers and residents.”
Highlights of the survey results are:
- Nearly three-quarters of respondents, 72 percent, said they’ve seen admission agreements that contain clauses stating that a third party could be financially liable for nursing home debt.
- The majority, 54 percent, of respondents indicated that they’d seen nursing homes file collection lawsuits against third parties.
- Residents’ children and spouses are particularly at risk for these collection actions. The majority, 56 percent, of respondents who have seen lawsuits filed against third parties to collect nursing home debt reported seeing lawsuits filed against the residents’ children, and nearly half, 49 percent, saw lawsuits against the residents’ spouses.
“People frequently enter nursing homes in times of crisis, often immediately after a hospitalization, when they cannot return home and are being pressured by the hospital to leave,” said Eric Carlson, director of long-term services and supports advocacy at Justice in Aging and co-author of the report. “Federal and state policy makers need to take steps to prevent nursing homes from preying upon vulnerable family and friends.”
To protect residents and their families and friends from predatory and abusive collection practice, the NCLC and Justice in Aging recommend:
- Congress should amend the Nursing Home Reform Act to prohibit nursing homes from using admission agreements to impose financial liability on nursing home residents’ families and friends.
- State legislators should repeal state laws that may impose personal liability for a resident’s nursing home debt on their spouse or children.
- State courts should adopt new rules before allowing default judgments in nursing home debt collection actions.
- Federal and state enforcement agencies and state attorney general offices should take action against nursing homes, debt buyers, and debt collectors that engage in unlawful or abusive collection practices and nursing home admission practices.
Much more attention is needed on these outrageous nursing home practices.
It’ll have to be states, state AG offices, etc., because I doubt if the incoming administration will be interested in assisting/enforcing existing laws in a way that protects “average” people.
Unfortunately, you’re right. Thank goodness we’ll still have state attorneys general working for the public interest.