CA advocates sue to stop illegal unloading of nursing home residents

The California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform (CANHR) and three nursing home residents have filed a lawsuit against the state saying it is allegedly illegally allowing residents to be "dumped" from nursing homes into hospitals. The dumping is in violation of federal law.

According to the lawsuit, California nursing home owners have been sending Medi-Cal residents to acute care hospitals and not allowing them to return to the home. CANHR alleges the owners are doing this to increase revenues and make space for more Medicare and private pay residents. The refused readmittance to the home has cost Californians more than $70 million in unnecessary hospitalization fees.

"Patient dumping by nursing homes has become an epidemic in California, particularly since no state agency wants to take responsibility for enforcing the law," Patricia McGinnis, executive director at CANHR, said in a press release. "Until and unless we make it more expensive for nursing homes to violate the law than to honor residents’ rights, nursing homes will continue this illegal and life-threatening behavior.  This lawsuit will expose the problem and hopefully push the State to enforce its laws and honor our commitment to vulnerable residents who need help.”

Read more about the lawsuit and illegal dumping here.

Megan Combs

Megan Combs was Associate Editor of I Advance Senior Care / Long Term Living from 2013-2018.