|
E-mail this page to a friend!
Senior Citizen Politics
Aging Committee Highlights Need for More Open Info
About Nursing Homes
Finance committee ranking member Grassley, top CMS
official Kerry Weems to testify
 Nov. 15, 2007 - Today, U.S. Senate Special
Committee on Aging Chairman Herb Kohl (D-WI) will hold a hearing to
highlight the need for increased transparency and accountability with
respect to information that is publicly available about nursing homes.
Key testimony is expected from Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) on the
need to strengthen the federal government’s system of nursing home
regulation, outlining the main objectives of the Nursing Home
Transparency and Improvement Act of 2007.
Chairman Kohl and Sen. Grassley say they plan to introduce
this legislation in the coming weeks.
| |
Related Stories |
|
| |
A Simple Fix for Social Security Problems Proposed
by Think Tank Scholar
Most know benefits increase with inflation but not
that first year pay is determined by wages, which suggests the solution
Nov. 9, 2007
Senators Kohl, Harkin Offer Legislation to Make 401k
Fees More Transparent
Aging Committee hears that these fees threaten
retirement security for seniors
Oct. 25, 2007
Hidden 401-k Fees Threaten Retirement Security for
Seniors Says Senate Aging Committee Chair
Sen. Kohl calls hearing today on devastating fees
hidden in law
Oct. 24, 2007
Bill Funding Efforts to Prepare Senior Citizens for
Digital TV Offered by Kohl
Sen. Kohl’s legislation aimed at filling gap left by
government and industry planning for transition of nation’s television
broadcast format
Oct. 3, 2007
Aging Committee Finds Need to Educate Senior
Citizens on Change to Digital TV
Nation changes to digital TV on Feb. 17, 2009 and
senior citizens may be in the dark
Sept. 19, 2007
Senators Kohl, Grassley Demand Drug Companies Reveal
Gifts to Doctors
McCaskill, Schumer, Klobuchar and Kennedy
co-sponsor new bill
Sept. 10, 2007
Read more
on
> Politics for Senior Citizens
>
Medicare
>
Medicare Drug Program |
|
The hearing can be viewed online during or after
the hearing with a link on the Committee webpage:
www.aging.senate.gov
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
Acting Administrator Kerry Weems will provide an overview of the
government’s Special Focus Facility Program, which was designed to
resolve problems in poorly performing nursing homes that exhibit a
history of non-compliance. Weems will also discuss the agency’s
strategic initiatives focused on improving nursing homes and increasing
transparency.
Witnesses will discuss the importance of
transparency in the areas of inspection results and staffing levels,
offering support for the policy under development by Senators Kohl and
Grassley that would require the federal government’s website for nursing
homes, Nursing Home Compare, to display accurate, timely information in
a format that can be easily understood by consumers across the country.
A representative from SEIU will speak to the need
for disclosure of ownership and subsidiary operations of nursing home
chains and facilities that have been purchased by private equity firms,
and will offer testimony about SEIU’s analysis of recent trends in
quality deficiencies nationwide, which shows that quality problems have
increased nationwide in nursing homes during the past three years.
Currently, state and federal regulators have no
easy way to identify which entity is responsible for providing good care
and making key financial decisions about how services will be provided
at these homes. The legislation would require nursing homes to report
their status of ownership and name any affiliated entities - information
that is often not known by Medicare and Medicaid today.
"Nursing Home Transparency and Improvement"
Thursday, November 15 at 1:30 p.m., G-50 Dirksen
Senate Office Building
Testifying:
>> U.S. Senator Charles Grassley, Ranking Member,
Committee on Finance
>> Kerry Weems, Acting Administrator, Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services
>> David Zimmerman, PhD, Center for Research
Systems and Analysis, University of Wisconsin School of Industrial and
Systems Engineering
>> Arvid Mueller, Director of Research, Services
Employees International Union (SEIU)
>> Steve Biondi, Vice President, Extendicare
Health Services, on behalf of the American Health Care Association
>> Bonnie Zabel, Administrator, Marquardt Memorial
Manor in Watertown, Wisconsin on behalf of the American Association of
Homes and Services for the Aging
>> Sarah Slocum, Michigan State Long-Term Care
Ombudsman
A webcast of the hearing will be available on the
Committee webpage:
www.aging.senate.gov
Click to More Senior News on the
Front Page
Copyright: SeniorJournal.com |
