Report, Webinar and Study Session
Dignity Alliance Massachusetts, in a launch of the new DignityMA Study Sessions, hosted a state level discussion of nursing home finances and the need for more financial transparency through state audits and the passage of Senate Bill 377 / House Bill 633 following the National Consumer Voice Webinar.
The Webinar and Study Session were held on April 6, 2023.
Consumer Voice released a report, “Where Do the Billions of Dollars Go? A Look at Nursing Home Related Party Transactions,” which documents how each year nursing homes funnel billions of dollars through related party companies (companies they own) with little to no oversight by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The report provides a detailed look at related parties and how nursing homes potentially use them to hide how much money they are making and to give the illusion that their facilities are not profitable.
The report uses cost data submitted to the federal government by nursing homes to illustrate the industry-wide practice of related party transactions and how at the same time, residents face inadequate staffing and poor care.
The constant refrain from the nursing home industry is that they need more money. Yet, the report shows that billions of dollars go unaccounted for each year and are potentially being siphoned off to the profits of nursing home owners and operators. The report offers solutions to the lack of transparency and accountability for how nursing home dollars are spent. CMS must take action now to ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent on care and that the safety and well-being nursing home residents is assured.
What can you do?
- Read the Consumer Voice Report
- Listen to the Webinar Podcast: Increase Scrutiny of Nursing Home Finances
- Watch the DignityMA Zoom discussion (below) of nursing home finances and the need for more financial transparency through state audits and the passage of Senate Bill 377 / House Bill 633. Sam Brooks, J.D., Director of Public Policy at The Consumer Voice is the featured guest.
The video below contains zoom auto-captions.
Contact: info@DignityAllianceMA.org for more information.