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Materials Available from Webinar on Increasing Scrutiny of Nursing Home Finances
The recording and materials are available from last week's webinar, "Increase Scrutiny of Nursing Home Finances." Despite receiving tens of billions of dollars each year in Medicare and Medicaid dollars, there is little accountability for how nursing homes spend taxpayer dollars. Consumer Voice and Ernie Tosh, nationally recognized expert on nursing home finances, discussed our new report, “Where do the Billions of Dollars Go? A Look at Nursing Home Related Party Transactions.” The report takes an in-depth look at how nursing home owners and operators funnel billions of dollars through companies they own with little to no accountability for how that money is used each year. In addition, we offered examples and solutions to address this industry-wide problem to ensure public dollars are going toward resident care.
Get the Materials
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New Podcast Episodes on Staffing in Nursing Homes
New episodes of the Pursuing Quality Long-Term Care podcast are now available. In these episodes, we sharine audio from two of Consumer Voice’s webinars that were part of the Dignity for All: Staffing Standards Now! campaign. Through this campaign, Consumer Voice is advocating for a minimum staffing standard in nursing homes.
- Episode 30: Quality Jobs, Quality Care - Consumer Voice speaks with direct care workers about what it's like to work in an understaffed long-term care facility and what a minimum staffing standard would mean to direct care staff in nursing homes.
- Episode 31: Resident Voices on How Staffing Impacts Their Lives - Residents of long-term care facilities share in their own words how living in a facility with inadequate staffing affects their quality of life and the quality of care that they receive, and what it would mean for their lives to live in a facility with enough staff.
Listen on Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, Facebook, or our website.
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2023 Residents' Rights Month Theme: Amplify Our Voices
 October is Residents’ Rights Month, an annual event designated by Consumer Voice to honor residents living in all long-term care facilities and those receiving care in their home or community. It is an opportunity to focus on and celebrate the dignity and rights of every individual receiving long-term services and supports.
This year’s Residents’ Rights Month theme - Amplify Our Voices - emphasizes a community of long-term care residents coming together to make their voices heard. Amplifying your voice means being outspoken about sharing your preferences and choices, and sharing who you are and your experiences. Residents’ voices are the most important at the decision-making table - your story deserves to be told!
As you prepare for Residents' Rights Month in October, visit our Residents' Rights Month webpage for more information and materials. This page will continue to be updated.
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CMS Revises Guidance for Enforcement of Infection Control Deficiencies
On April 4, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued revised guidance, QSO-23-10-NH, “Strengthened Enhanced Enforcement for Infection Control Deficiencies and Quality Improvement Activities in Nursing homes,” which strengthens enforcement efforts for noncompliance with infection control deficiencies (F880) and vaccine immunization requirements for staff and residents (F887).
Consumer Voice has long been advocating with CMS and the Administration for stronger enforcement measures. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, noncompliance with Infection Prevention and Control was the top deficiency cited. Despite the devastation nursing home residents faced throughout the pandemic, most violations inspectors found were labelled as causing “no actual harm,” which means facilities rarely faced any meaningful financial penalties. The revised guidance directly responds to Consumer Voice’s concerns over lack of enforcement, targeting “facilities with, or at risk for, the most significant negative resident health outcomes.”
Among other things, facilities that are now cited with Actual Harm for non-compliance for Infection Prevention and Control (F880) will face a 10% increase in Civil Money Penalties with a ten percent increase adjustment; and facilities cited with Immediate Jeopardy will face a 20% increase in Civil Money Penalties.
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