Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Matt Curley provided insight in an article for Modern Healthcare about how the COVID-19 pandemic may increase state and federal investigations into long-term care providers and skilled nursing facilities. “It appears that the current crisis is overwhelming long-term care providers that have previously tried to manage the shortcomings of inadequate staffing and supplies,” said Matt. “The magnitude of this crisis is bringing to light many significant shortcomings in a very significant way.”
“Nursing home and elder care enforcement initiatives are nothing new,” Matt added. “I expect the current crisis will increase the focus and resources of civil and criminal enforcement by regulators.”
“It’s quite possible that there is going to have to be a serious look at the reimbursement model if we are going to expect these facilities to be staffed adequately and have adequate supplies to weather this sort of crisis in the future,” he said.
The full article, “COVID-19 to Boost State and Federal Probes of Long-Term Care,” was published by Modern Healthcare on April 16 and is available online (subscription required).