News

Study Session: Nursing Homes Funnel Billions Through Companies with Little Scrutiny from Federal Government

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 ...

2023-03-27 Spotlight: Centene Corp’s Annual Financial Report Indicates That Poverty is Profitable for Investors

Courtesy of our colleagues from Tallgrass Economics (Economics, Finance & Politics of Aging) March 23, 2023, By David Kingsley The Biggest Player in Poverty Medicine Had a Banner Year in 2022 Among all U.S. corporations, Centene Corporation is ranked 20th in revenue. It is also a major player in the ...

Disabled and Elderly Jurors Nondiscrimination Act

March 17, 2023. This legislation, sponsored in the U.S. Senate by Senator Edward Markey, has been endorsed by 21 members of DignityMA. The bill has not yet been assigned a number. Stay tuned. SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Disabled and Elderly Jurors Non-discrimination Act’’ ...

2023-03-20 Spotlight: Everyone in a nursing home deserves a single room

The government should require that owners give residents private space — or it should take over the facilities and replace them with small homes. [Editor’s note: Margaret Morganroth Gullette, resident scholar in the Women’s Studies Research Center at Brandeis University, is the author of “Ending Ageism, or How Not to ...

2023-03-13 Spotlight on Nursing Home Administrator Hours

LTCCC Alert: Nursing Home Administrator Hours Down 20% Since Pandemic Long Term Care Community Coalition March 9, 2023 Editor’s note: This communication and referenced report is courtesy of our colleagues from the Long Term Care Community Coalition in New York. We are grateful for their research and willingness to share.] ...

PCA Rally for Increased Wages

On March 1, PCA from 1199 SEIU union, consumers, advocates and legislators gathered at the union headquarters. After reminding everyone why it is so important for PCAs to earn more money, everyone marched to the new sculpture on Boston Common, the Embrace. Following that, the protest moved to the governor’s ...

Letter to DPH re: Nursing Home Closures

Paul Lanzikos, on behalf of DignityMA, has sent the following letter to the Department of Public Health regarding the closure of four nursing homes in western Massachusetts. A letter was also sent to the Attorney General. The Boston Globe reported on the story on March 9. Download the nursing home ...

Letter to AG re: Nursing Home Closures

Paul Lanzikos, on behalf of DignityMA, has sent the following letter to the Attorney General on March 8, 2023, regarding the closure of four nursing homes in western Massachusetts. A letter was also sent to the Department of Public Health. The Boston Globe reported on the story on March 9 ...

2023-03-06 Spotlight on Judy Heumann

Judy Heumann, Who Led the Fight for Disability Rights, Dies at 75 New York Times (free access), March 5, 2023 She successfully battled to become a teacher and went on to help bring about a revolution in the government’s treatment of the disabled. Judy Heumann, who spent decades attacking a ...

2023-02-26 Spotlight on Nursing Home Closures in Western MA

‘It’s flooding an already completely congested market.’ Nursing home closures in Western Mass. leave families and hospitals scrambling. Boston Globe, February 26, 2023, by Kay Lazar The abrupt announcement that four nursing homes in Western Massachusetts will be closing this spring has forced hundreds of people to scramble to find ...

2023-24 “Dignity Dozen+” Co-Sponsorship Day at the State House

Dignity Alliance Hosts First Co-Sponsorship Day at the State House – February 16, 2023 Legislators, Staff, Advocates Join to Advocate for the “Dignity Dozen+” 2023-2024 Legislation for Older Adults, People with Disabilities and Caregivers Dignity Alliance Massachusetts held a very successful open house event to recruit legislative co-sponsors for “DIGNITY ...

2023-02-20 Spotlight on Nursing Homes Owners Drained Cash While Residents Deteriorated

Nursing home owners drained cash while residents deteriorated, state filings suggest. NPR Shots, January 31, 2023 New York state records show nearly half the state's 600-plus nursing homes hired real estate, management and staffing companies run or controlled by their owners, frequently paying them well above the cost of services ...

Updates from the Executive Office of Elder Affairs (EOEA)

AARP Quarterly, Stakeholders Meeting, 16 February 2023 Download the Updates from EOEA (pdf). Topics include:
  • PHCAST (Personal and Home Care Aid Skills Training) Expanded Training
  • PHCAST New Website at MAHomeCareTraining.org
  • PHCAST Marketing Campaign
  • EOEA Branding and Promotion Project
  • Information on End of Federal Extra SNAP
  • Information on MassHealth Redetermination
  • MassHealth Update on Medicare Savings Program
...

Equity must be driving force of ongoing Mass. public health policy

Letter to the Boston Globe, February 14, 2023, by Dr. Lara Jirmanus, Carlene Pavlos and Paul Lanzikos Regarding “The White House wants to end the public health emergency. Is the country prepared?” (Editorial, Feb. 9), we should ask, “Is the Commonwealth prepared?” How our elected leaders answer that question will ...

2023-02-13: Spotlight on For Older Americans, the Pandemic Is Not Over

For Older Americans, the Pandemic Is Not Over New York Times (free access), February 12, 2023 (updated) Seniors are increasingly left to protect themselves as the rest of the country abandons precautions: “Americans do not agree about the duty to protect others.” In early December, Aldo Caretti developed a cough ...

2023-02-06: Spotlight on the Ensign Group

Tallgrass Economics Finance & Politics February 4, 2023
THE ENSIGN GROUP 4TH QUARTER REPORT: MARVELOUS IF YOU ARE AN INVESTOR (BUT NOT IF YOU ARE AN EMPLOYEE AND/OR A TAXPAYER).
[This the most recent blog posted by Dave Kingsley, a principal with Tallgrass Economics Finance & Politics.]
As I noted a couple of ...

Recruitment – MassHealth members who have been stuck in nursing facility for 60 days or more

Simmons v. Healey: An ADA Class Action Seeking to Compel Massachusetts to Stop the Unnecessary Institutionalization of People with Disabilities On October 11, 2022, the Center for Public Representation (CPR), a national disability rights law firm in Easthampton, Massachusetts; Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS), a local legal services program; Justice ...

Recruitment – Nursing Home residents who lived with more than 2 people in a room

Seeking Current or Former Nursing Homes Residents who lived in room with more than two residents could help this care. River Terrace Operator LLC, et al. v. Commonwealth of Massachusetts et al. Civil Action 2284CV01024 Dignity Alliance is assisting the Attorney General opposing about 30 nursing homes that don’t want ...

Healey should settle, not litigate, disability lawsuit

Avoid unnecessary institutionalization in nursing homes. January 27, 2023 by Alex Green and Bill Henning EVERY DAY, thousands of Massachusetts residents with disabilities are admitted to segregated nursing facilities, be it to recover from medical procedures, to receive respite and care because they’re homeless, or because of a lack supportive ...