“We’re protecting seniors’ life savings by cracking down on nursing homes that commit fraud, endanger patient safety and prescribe drugs that are not needed,” Biden trumpeted during the SOTU. The 12-second mention was in direct reference to the administration’s January 18 announcement that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) would soon implement targeted audits to determine whether providers are properly assessing and coding patients with a schizophrenia diagnosis. The reasons for these actions are well explained in the following articles available on this blog:
The agency also announced at that time that it will begin publicly displaying disputed survey citations even before their merit is proven or disproven, which no doubt frustrates the industry. Advocates welcome the transparency, particularly given the historically poor record of CMS enforcement, and poor relationship between ratings and actual quality of care. See the following:
The nursing home declaration Tuesday came 36 minutes into a 73-minute speech before a joint gathering of Congress, Supreme Court justices, military leaders and other top federal figures. You might remember that in his 2022 State of the Union, President Biden was more explicit about his intention to hold certain elements of the long-term care sector to account:
“Medicare is going to set higher standards for nursing homes and make sure your loved ones get the care they deserve and that they inspect and will get looked at closely.”
He also then promised accountability for “Wall Street” firms that take over facilities and don’t maintain high standards and quality. The 19-second SOTU mention was believed to be the "most extensive mention of nursing homes" ever in a State of the Union. The White House released an expansive 21-point reform plan that, today, remains a work in progress.
Biden’s 2023 SOTU nursing homes mention was hardly as controversial as his last a year earlier. The centerpiece of the previously announced reform effort was a promised first-ever nursing home staffing mandate. See, "White House Announces Measures to Improve Nursing Home Care Quality. Staffing shortages threaten health, and frustrate seniors in planning quality care. See, Home Health Care Staff Shortages Threaten Health- Frustrates Aging in Place.
A newly developed detailed proposal, feared by many nursing home operators already struggling with staffing, may be released at any time. Recently, an administration official announced that a study encompassing provider interviews and projected cost implications is now complete and strategies are being considered.
All administrations are duty-bound to crack down on fraudulent activities conducted by nursing home operators, as well as any committed by other healthcare and non-healthcare entities that accept federal funding. In addition to several high-profile regulatory actions announced by CMS over the last year, the Department of Justice on Tuesday announced that a record $2.2 billion had been recovered via False Claims Act involving nursing homes, and many others.
The White House also issued a new White House Fact Sheet, including a section labeled “Improving safety and accountability in nursing homes” indicating that more regulatory belt-tightening will be coming for nursing homes:
“As the President directed in last year’s State of the Union, CMS has taken action to strengthen oversight of the worst performing nursing homes, prevent abuse and Medicare fraud, and improve families’ ability to comparison shop across nursing homes. In the coming days and months, CMS will announce new actions to increase safety and accountability at nursing homes.”
On Tuesday night, Biden also urged lawmakers to adopt his upcoming budget plan to pay for more services for seniors in their homes:
“Pass my plan so we get seniors and people with disabilities the home care and services they need, and support the workers who are doing God’s work. These plans are fully paid for and we can afford to do them.”
The centerpiece of the Trump Administration's effort to encourage and support aging in place focused on Advantage Plans, and expanding availability of alternatives to institutional care outside of traditional Medicare and Medicaid. A shift in focus on Medicare, the mechanism that the vast majority of seniors use to pay for health care, is positive and welcome. It is long past time for Medicare to take responsibility financially for providing alternatives to institutional care, and for expanding these alternatives where they do not yet exist.
