How does Federal Law Protect Seniors from Nursing Home Eviction?

Nursing homes are required to meet requirements if evicting a resident.

No one wants to be evicted.

Being displaced is stressful.

Especially if one is being evicted from a nursing home.

According to a recent Skilled Nursing News article titled “What SNFs Should Know About Proper Protocols for Resident Eviction,” this is may be more common than you would imagine.

There are laws regarding skilled nursing facilities and their residents.

As a resident, you can take legal action if being evicted wrongfully.

The federal Nursing Home Reform Act (NHRA) requires any nursing facility accepting Medicare or Medicaid to comply with these laws.

What rights does this law provide?

A resident may only be discharged for one of six reasons.

What are they?

 

1. The resident may require more care than the facility can provide.
2. The resident no longer requires the service of the facility.
3. The resident is a danger to the health of other residents.
4. The resident is a danger to the safety of other residents.
5. The resident has not paid for the care.
6. The skilled nursing facility will no longer be in operation.

If the resident is being discharged for any of these reasons, the facility must follow a specific protocol.

What is this protocol?

The facility must give notice to the patient of his or her discharge.

This notice must include the reason for the discharge, the proposed date of the discharge, the location where the patient will be transferred, the rights of the resident to appeal, and the contact information for any agency that may help them with the appeal or transition.

If the resident needs care beyond what the facility can supply, the facility must give specific documentation for the claim.

Specifically, this would include the needs of the patient, how the facility is unable to provide care, where the resident is being transferred to receive the care needed, and a detailed plan for the transfer.

If the facility attempts to evict you or a loved one because of dementia or the effects of a medication, this is unlawful.

You or your loved one may have a case to successfully appeal.

Contact an experienced elder law attorney to guide you through the process, as this is not a DIY project.

Remember: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” When making your financial, tax and estate plans, do not go it alone. Be sure to engage competent professional counsel.

For more information about estate planning in Overland Park, KS (and throughout the rest of Kansas and Missouri), visit our estate planning website and be sure to subscribe to our complimentary estate planning e-newsletter while you are there.

Reference: Skilled Nursing News (December 17, 2017) “What SNFs Should Know About Proper Protocols for Resident Eviction”