SUBSTANDARD NURSING HOME BONUSES SCANDALOUS forwarded by Betty Simmons

Monday, April 13, 2009
 
Representative Richard Morrissette
State Capitol Building, Rm. 321
Oklahoma City, OK  73105
Contact: Jaclyn Brink-Rosen, (405) 557-7404
 
State Representative Calls Bonuses
for Substandard Nursing Home Care ‘Scandalous’
Morrissette Joins Coburn in Comparing Scandal to AIG Bailout/Bonus Fiasco
 
Oklahoma City (April 13, 2009) State Capitol – Oklahoma State Representative Richard Morrissette calls the practice of paying bonuses to nursing homes, while providing substandard care, “scandalous.”  Rep. Morrissette is the first Oklahoma legislator to join U.S. Senator Tom Coburn in confronting government agencies paying bonuses to nursing homes that provide below-average care and have past violations of health and safety regulations.
 
“This ‘Focus on Excellence’ system introduced by the Health Care Authority should be thoroughly investigated; from the way the contract was awarded to the way it is administered,” Rep. Morrissette stated emphatically.  “Bonuses to facilities providing care that fails to meet the national average in virtually every category should be immediately stopped. The AIG scandal pales in comparison.”
 
When it was launched last year, the Oklahoma Nursing Home Ratings program was touted as a great resource for families seeking nursing home care in Oklahoma. It uses a 5-star rating system, with 5-stars representing the best facilities. Nursing homes participating in the program receive a $1.09 bonus per resident, per day for each star they receive; therefore a 5-star rated facility receives a $5.45 bonus on top of their normal reimbursement rate of almost $130 per day.
 
Based on reports by the citizens’ advocacy group, A Perfect Cause, the Oklahoma Health Care Authority could pay as much as $19 million in bonuses to 282 nursing homes across the state.
 
One Oklahoma nursing home eligible for bonuses, Mooreland Heritage Manor, has 54 federal deficiencies in the current reporting period.  The national average for deficiencies is eight. Of the 54 deficiencies, eight were for mistreatment and nine were for quality of care.  The Mooreland nursing home is eligible for a $17,505 bonus.
 
Wood Manor Nursing Center in Claremore is eligible for almost $250,000 in bonuses. That facility has an over 50% higher rate of urinary tract infections than the national average and has less staffing hours for registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and certified nurse aides than the national averages. 
 
The largest bonuses would go to Grace Living Center in Jenks, with potentially $336,000 awarded.  That facility has twice the national average in deficiencies and twice the national average for the use of physical restraints.
 
At present, 282 nursing homes are participating in the “Focus on Excellence” Program. Of those 21 have a 5-star rating, 61 – 4-star, 70 – 3-star, 63 – 2-star, 58 – 1-star and 9 have zero stars.
 
Of the state’s 21 5-star rated facilities receiving bonuses, two – including the Grace Living Facility in Jenks – have twice as many deficiencies as the national average. As a group the 5-star facilities currently have 14 mistreatment and 30 quality-of-care deficiencies. Of the state’s 58 1-star rated facilities receiving bonuses, only eight have fewer deficiencies than the national average. As a group the 1-star facilities have 64 mistreatment and 218 quality-of-care deficiencies. Four 1-star facilities have lost their Medicaid funding due to substandard care.
 
In a press release issued April 2, 2009, Senator Tom Coburn stated, “The public had every right to be outraged when AIG received $165 million in bonuses from public funds, yet few taxpayers realize the government has spent billions on improper bonuses for non-performing contractors. The scandal of the government handing out improper bonuses to contractors and government executives dwarfs the scope of the AIG bonus scandal.”
 
Sen. Coburn specifically decried government agencies paying bonuses to below-average nursing homes with a history of care violations.
 
Oklahoma’s nursing home watchdog and founder of A Perfect Cause, Wes Bledsoe states, “We are paying bonuses to nursing home operators who are providing substandard care that jeopardizes not only the safety and well-being of our disabled and elderly, but all too often results in needless suffering and preventable deaths. At least AIG’s bonus scandal was only money; this scandal is money and the lives of Oklahoma’s most vulnerable adults.”
 
In a survey published in US News and World Report last month, Oklahoma is ranked 3rd-worst in the nation when it comes to best performing long-term care facilities.
 
Rep. Morrissette stated, “At a time when we should be fiscally conservative, the idea of paying millions of dollars in bonuses is inconceivable, especially when the numbers show facilities are not doing their jobs.”