Protecting nursing home residents: What say ye, Sen. Rubio and Rep. Posey?
This website recently shared a New York Times article published December 24 with the headline “Trump Administration Eases Nursing Home Fines in Victory for Industry.”
This “victory” has flown largely under the radar, begging the question, have we become numb by the sheer magnitude of questionable actions by our president?
In effect, the Trump administration put the brakes on regulators by scaling back Medicare’s fining protocols, which are meant to discourage nursing home operators from allowing patient abuse, negligent and general violations of operating standards. Four of 10 nursing homes have been cited at least once for serious violations since 2003.
“The new guidelines discourage regulators from levying fines in some situations, even when they have resulted in in a resident’s death,” said the Times article.
What a wonderful Christmas gift the president has bestowed on the American Health Care Association, the principal industry group representing nursing home owners. The group had begged Trump for such “relief” even before he assumed office. The mounds of paperwork detracted from patients care, they argued.
Paperwork? Sure. You’re taking federal money, after all. However, it’s one thing to reduce the regulations required to construct a highway, the example often used by the president to justify deregulation. But to deregulate protections for the elderly is quite another matter.
So this begs the question: What are the positions of our Republican Sen. Marco Rubio and Rep. Bill Posey on this matter? I asked them just that, through the contact page of their respective websites. They invite constituents to write about their concerns, after all.
So I asked: “What is (Senator Rubio’s, Bill Posey’s) position on the Trump Administration’s recent actions to scale back the Medicare fining protocols for nursing homes in cases of neglect, abuse or violations? With so many nursing homes in Florida, this must be of interest to you. Nursing home residents and their families are often (your) constituents, as well.”
In other words, where do you stand? Are you standing up to protect the vulnerable, or are you just an enabler of the president’s bad behavior?
(I have done a Google search and could not find anything that answers my question.)
In my communication, I said that I was writing a letter to the editor on this matter and wanted to know their positions. And I will write that letter as soon as I hear back. If I ever do.
I’ll be sure to update our readers as well.
– – Richard Leonard, Communications Committee
