The cost of living in a nursing home is steep and continues to rise, typically costing at least $108,000 a year.
What happens when a resident is no longer able to pay? A new report by the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) says the nursing home operator will sometimes try to collect the money from the resident’s family, or even friends.
In spite of laws prohibiting that practice, the report says nursing homes have been suing residents' children, siblings, spouses, and friends for alleged debts for decades and are getting more aggressive.
"When nursing homes attempt to hold residents' family members and friends personally financially liable for unpaid bills, they may be violating federal and state laws," said Anna Anderson, a staff attorney at the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) and co-author of the report.
"These aggressive debt collection practices can have serious financial consequences for caregivers and residents. Federal and state officials and courts must enforce existing laws and adopt new policies to address these ongoing issues."
Key findings
The report analyzes a survey conducted by the NCLC and Justice in Aging. The survey gathered insights from advocates in the consumer and aging fields about debt collection practices used by nursing homes.
Key findings from the survey include:
Nearly 72% of respondents reported seeing admission agreements with clauses stating that a third party could be financially liable for nursing home debt.
A majority (54%) indicated they had observed nursing homes filing collection lawsuits against third parties.
Residents' children and spouses are particularly vulnerable to these collection actions. Among respondents who had seen lawsuits filed against third parties, 56% reported seeing lawsuits against residents' children, and 49% saw lawsuits against residents' spouses.
"People often enter nursing homes during crises, usually right after a hospital stay, when they can't return home and are 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 policymakers need to take steps to prevent nursing homes from exploiting vulnerable family and friends."
The report concludes that Congress should amend the Nursing Home Reform Act (NHRA) to explicitly prohibit nursing homes from using admission agreements to impose financial liability on residents' families and friends.