NEWS ALERT
June 11, 2020
Nursing
Home Residents’ Right to retain Federal Economic Incentive Payments
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
(CMS) is aware of allegations that some nursing homes are seizing residents
economic impact payments (or “Stimulus Checks”) authorized under the CARES
Act. This practice is prohibited, and nursing homes that seize these
payments from residents could be subject to federal enforcement actions,
including potential termination from participation in the Medicare and
Medicaid programs.
While CMS has not received any specific
complaints regarding this practice, we believe it is important for
residents and families to know their rights, and for nursing homes to
understand the liability associated with this practice.
Seizing residents’ stimulus checks could be a
violation of federal regulations at 42 CFR §483.12, Freedom from Abuse, Neglect and
Exploitation. Specifically, this could be considered
misappropriation of resident property, which is defined as “the deliberate misplacement, exploitation,
or wrongful, temporary, or permanent use of a resident's belongings or
money without the resident's consent.” Further,
nursing homes requiring residents to deposit their stimulus check with the
nursing home could be in violation of 42 CFR §483.10 which gives residents
have “the right to
manage his or her financial affairs.” Further, “The facility must not require
residents to deposit their personal funds with the facility. If a resident
chooses to deposit personal funds with the facility, upon written
authorization of a resident, the facility must act as a fiduciary of the
resident's funds and hold, safeguard, manage, and account for the personal
funds of the resident deposited with the facility, as specified in this
section.”
CMS and State investigators will make referrals
to the States Attorneys General, as appropriate, if they find a nursing
home in violation of these requirements.
###
|
No comments:
Post a Comment