This week’s news roundup: Former Manor Care Nursing Home CEO wants to receive $100 MILLION dollars despite potential bankruptcy. Read about Manor Care’s legal troubles.
Also, is Florida’s Elder Care Ombudsman under fire for not recommending nursing home abuse and nursing home neglect investigations to the State? We look into this important news story.
Finally, we look into how Florida nursing homes are changing the way they get paid for treating Medicaid Patients. Will this be better or worse for Nursing Homes in Florida? Read what is being proposed.
$100 MILLION: MANOR CARE’S FORMER CEO SEEKS LARGE PAYOUT
ManorCare is the second biggest nursing home chain in America with facilities in Palm Beach County, Broward County, and Miami-Dade County. However, it is being reported that this chain is now facing a potential bankruptcy, is in “dire financial straits,” and is subject to a “Department of Justice investigation.”
Despite this, the former CEO, Paul Ormond, is seeking to get paid $100 million he claims is owed. According to the article, when ManorCare was bought out for $6.3 billion dollars by private equity group “Carlyle Group” a compensation package was entered into with Paul Ormond.
Ormond is claiming he was never paid $100 million owed under that 10 year compensation package and is now preventing a “restructuring” deal the nursing home chain is trying to secure in order to continue to operate their nursing homes.
Of significance, ManorCare is also under investigation by the Department of Justice who filed a 2015 complaint against them due to alleged false claims being submitted to Medicare for rehabilitation therapy services that were not medically reasonable or necessary. This case is still being litigated; however, it is being reported that Ormond wants to make sure he gets paid before any restructuring occurs and before the Department of Justice case is resolved.
- OUR THOUGHTS: We are not privileged to see the compensation plan entered into, therefore it is hard to say whether Ormond is truly entitled to receive the $100 million payout. However, we do find it interesting that he wants to obtain payment prior to any restructuring and in the face of a Department of Justice investigation. Vanity Fair previously reported him making $190 million dollar from the sale of Manor Care to the Carlyle Group, therefore, he certainly has not been hurting for money even without the $100 million payout. We will continue to watch see what happens to Manor Care and whether this causes closures in the State of Florida as Manor Care nursing homes in Florida are frequently visited by current and former clients of NextGen Injury Law.
ARE NURSING HOME COMPLAINTS NOT BEING INVESTIGATED BY THE STATE OF FLORIDA?
It is being reported that Florida’s Elder Care Ombudsman (the patient advocate group for nursing home victims) has referred only 3% of nursing home abuse and nursing home neglect complaints to necessary investigative agencies. This percentage is calculated from when Governor Rick Scott took office since 2011.
When comparing this number to prior years (before Governor Scott took office), it was reported that between 6 to 10 % of complaints were referred to agencies. In other words, there has been at least a 50% decrease in complaints being sent to investigative agencies during Governor Scott’s tenure.
- OUR THOUGHTS: The simple conclusion one could draw from the above data is that the Florida Elder Ombudsman has consciously decided to not send nursing home complaints to investigative agencies, perhaps due to Rick Scott’s influence. However, we also understand that correlation does not always mean causation. Therefore, we would like to see further investigation as to the reason for why the Florida Elder Care Ombudsman has referred out less nursing home abuse complaints. An Elder Affairs spokesperson believes that drop of investigations is because there have been more “proactive” visits from Florida ombudsman at nursing homes in Florida. However, a former ombudsman from 2003 to 2011 doubts this conclusion and does not believe that nursing home abuse and neglect in Florida has simply declined.
NURSING HOMES IN FLORIDA: GETTING PAID FOR MEDICAID PATIENTS
There will be changes to how skilled nursing homes are being paid for Medicaid patients in skilled nursing homes in Florida. Starting in 2018, nursing homes in Florida will be reimbursed based on a “prospective payment system” rather than a “cost-based” plan. Discussions are still underway as to exactly how the changes that will take place in 2018.
The CEO of MorseLife in West Palm Beach, Florida is one of the individuals advocating for changes to reimbursement rates for patients on Medicaid in skilled nursing facilities in Florida. As indicated in the article, the CEO, Keith Myers, is advocating for a system that uses “quality of care” as a basis for higher reimbursement to skilled nursing facilities in Florida. Under this type of system, the better quality of care should, in turn, result in higher reimbursement to that facility.
- OUR THOUGHTS: At NextGen Injury Law, we believe that reimbursement should be tied to quality of care as this will give facilities a direct incentive to those providing care to Medicaid patients in Florida. Of course, those considering these changes should look into what constitutes “quality of care” at nursing homes and how they will track “quality of care” in a nursing home. Additionally, we encourage there to be oversight of this new system so that nursing homes cannot “game” the system, similar to what we have seen with the Medicare rating system, and there needs to be measures in place so that nursing homes cannot easily commit Medicaid fraud.
NEW SENIOR LIVING PROPERTIES IN BOCA RATON AND FT. LAUDERDALE
Two new senior living communities are going to open in Boca Raton, Florida in the next several years. One facility is an assisted living facility and the other is an adult congregate living facility. They are expected to open in 2021 and will be managed by Watercrest Senior Living. One of the facilities will have 63 memory care units, 70 studios, 50 one-bedroom units, and 10 two-bedroom units.
A new senior living property is going to be built in Fort Lauderdale, Florida which will be the “tallest building” in Fort Lauderdale. The new facility will be called “Riverwalk Residences of Las Olas” and is going to be 42 stories tall with 401 units, including 192 independent living units, 152 assisted living units, and 57 memory care units.