Congressional Democrats have demanded information about corporate spending from the operators of three of the nation’s largest for-profit public nursing homes after the companies said they cannot afford the Biden administration’s new minimum staffing threshold.
In letters sent to businesses on Sunday, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), along with Reps. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) and Jan. Schakowsky (D-Ill.) pressed for information about acquisitions, dividends and salaries to executives and shareholders.
Lawmakers aim to contrast that with the salaries of nurses and nursing assistants, amid widespread industry opposition to the new staffing requirements because they are too expensive.
“These two competing claims do not add up,” the lawmakers wrote, noting that the industry “diverts hundreds of millions of dollars in money from nursing home and patient care staff, and into the pockets of company executives and shareholders.” .
Lawmakers require the three companies to respond to how they determine executive compensation and whether it is influenced by the quality of service or profits. The letters also ask for answers about the three companies’ average salary and length of service for their nurses and nursing assistants.
Since 2018, National Healthcare Corp., Ensign Group Inc. and Brookdale Senior Living Inc. have paid nearly $650 million in stock repurchases, dividend payments and other financial rewards to senior executives, including nearly $118 to Brookdale Senior Living, $300 million to Ensign Group and more than $226 million to National HealthCare Corp.
Lawmakers said the level of executive spending undermines “the claim that nursing homes cannot afford sufficient staff” to comply with the new rule.
Last month, the Biden administration announced a final rule that requires nursing homes to have minimum levels of frontline caregivers for the first time or face financial penalties.
Among other provisions, the final rule will also require facilities to have a registered nurse on staff 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The rule requires nursing homes to provide each resident with a minimum of 0.55 hours of care from a registered nurse and 2.45 hours from a certified nursing assistant every day.
The rule aims to address chronically understaffed nursing homes, which can lead to substandard or unsafe care. The rule’s requirements will be introduced in phases, with longer lead times for rural communities.
Advocates have been calling for a minimum staffing requirement for more than two decades, arguing that residents are safer and get better care with more staff, but the industry has successfully resisted.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
