The Affordable Care Act implemented by President Obama directs Medicare to develop a national incentive pay program for nursing homes. The program is designed to reward nursing homes that improve their quality standards and reduce the rate of hospitalization, thereby discouraging nursing home abuse and neglect. The new program is still several years away from being fully developed and implemented, since the government first needs to analyze results from a study entitled “Nursing Home Value-Based Purchasing Demonstration,” which ended in July.
The report involved 182 nursing homes in Wisconsin, Arizona, and New York, including data on:
- Registered nursing hours per resident
- Potentially avoidable hospitalizations
- Clinical measures (e.g. residents with bed sores or restraints)
- Deficiencies reported by state inspectors
Under this incentive program, nursing home facilities nationwide could receive financial rewards for meeting or exceeding established quality standards. However, the caveat is that participating nursing homes in each state must achieve savings as a group in order to receive incentive payments. The general idea is that savings will build up from lower hospitalization rates, which are directly correlated to quality standards, and these savings will form a pool from which incentive payments are drawn.
If you suspect your loved one may be experiencing nursing home neglect or abuse anywhere in the state of Arizona, please contact Cullan & Cullan M.D., J.D. today to schedule a free case evaluation with an experienced Arizona nursing home abuse lawyer.
