Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Beverly Sales Draws Attention in Mississippi
This little item came in under the door. Looks like the nursing home jig is up. Perhaps Mississippi lawmakers will get to do what has not yet happened in Arkansas. It would be a breath of fresh air for the buyers of Beverly to be held publicly accountable. Remember, 76 percent of Arkansas nursing home residents are on either Medicare or Medicaid. Taxpayer money is the mother's milk of an industry that was entirely greedy before the arrival of real estate speculators such as NASC. This is very much the public's business. Read on.
Press Release for October 5, 2005 from Jackson Mississippi:
Today, State Representatives Percy Watson-Hattiesburg and Jamie Franks-Mooreville announced their intention to hold legislative hearings to address rising concerns about recent developments in the nursing home industry.
"We have become increasingly troubled by a trend that may seriously affect nursing home residents in Mississippi," stated Watson, who is the Chair of House Ways and Means Committee.
The 25-year veteran of the Mississippi House expressed concerns over recent developments involving the sales and pending sales of a number of large nursing home chains, namely IHS, Mariner, and the pending sale of Beverly Enterprises to out-of-state real-estate developers. Court documents show that these recent sales have resulted in the parent corporations being stripped of assets and vendors and medical suppliers of the homes not being paid.
He is joined by Representative Franks who stated, "The Mariner sale, for example, is troubling in light of recent stories that show the new owners are not paying vendors - some of whom are based right here in Mississippi. As a member of the Ways and Means as well as the Public Health and Human Services Committees, I am very concerned that tax dollars used to pay for care may not be going to care", he stated. "And now the same people who purchased Mariner are poised to buy another large nursing home chain."
They announced their intention to meet with representatives of the Mississippi Department of Health in an attempt to understand what these transfers might mean to the care of residents and how the state's regulatory authority may be hindered. They will also ask the agency a series of questions in writing for their presentation at the hearing. For example, they will ask them to compare care at the Mariner facilities before and after the sale to determine if resident care has suffered at any of these homes.
A similar hearing in Arkansas revealed that as chain-owned nursing homes are divided into multi-layered corporate entities, state regulatory oversight is hindered. It was also revealed that in the event of a home closure due to a lease expiration, the state would be powerless to stop the closure and would have "zero" capacity to handle resident care.
"These transactions are concerning at several levels, but most importantly on what it may mean to resident care" Watson added.
Neither states when the hearings would be conducted given the current special session, but hoped to do so within the coming weeks.
Press Release for October 5, 2005 from Jackson Mississippi:
Today, State Representatives Percy Watson-Hattiesburg and Jamie Franks-Mooreville announced their intention to hold legislative hearings to address rising concerns about recent developments in the nursing home industry.
"We have become increasingly troubled by a trend that may seriously affect nursing home residents in Mississippi," stated Watson, who is the Chair of House Ways and Means Committee.
The 25-year veteran of the Mississippi House expressed concerns over recent developments involving the sales and pending sales of a number of large nursing home chains, namely IHS, Mariner, and the pending sale of Beverly Enterprises to out-of-state real-estate developers. Court documents show that these recent sales have resulted in the parent corporations being stripped of assets and vendors and medical suppliers of the homes not being paid.
He is joined by Representative Franks who stated, "The Mariner sale, for example, is troubling in light of recent stories that show the new owners are not paying vendors - some of whom are based right here in Mississippi. As a member of the Ways and Means as well as the Public Health and Human Services Committees, I am very concerned that tax dollars used to pay for care may not be going to care", he stated. "And now the same people who purchased Mariner are poised to buy another large nursing home chain."
They announced their intention to meet with representatives of the Mississippi Department of Health in an attempt to understand what these transfers might mean to the care of residents and how the state's regulatory authority may be hindered. They will also ask the agency a series of questions in writing for their presentation at the hearing. For example, they will ask them to compare care at the Mariner facilities before and after the sale to determine if resident care has suffered at any of these homes.
A similar hearing in Arkansas revealed that as chain-owned nursing homes are divided into multi-layered corporate entities, state regulatory oversight is hindered. It was also revealed that in the event of a home closure due to a lease expiration, the state would be powerless to stop the closure and would have "zero" capacity to handle resident care.
"These transactions are concerning at several levels, but most importantly on what it may mean to resident care" Watson added.
Neither states when the hearings would be conducted given the current special session, but hoped to do so within the coming weeks.
