Posted on Jul 28, 2022
Nursing homes are suing friends and family to collect on patients' bills
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https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/07/28/ [login to see] /nursing-homes-are-suing-friends-and-family-to-collect-on-patients-bills
Lucille Brooks was stunned when she picked up the phone before Christmas two years ago and learned a nursing home was suing her.
"I thought this was crazy," recalled Brooks, 74, a retiree who lives with her husband in a modest home in the Rochester suburbs. Brooks' brother had been a resident of the nursing home. But she had no control over his money or authority to make decisions for him. She wondered how she could be on the hook for his nearly $8,000 bill.
Brooks would learn she wasn't alone. Pursuing unpaid bills, nursing homes across this industrial city have been routinely suing not only residents but their friends and family, a KHN review of court records reveals. The practice has ensnared scores of children, grandchildren, neighbors, and others, many with nearly no financial ties to residents or legal responsibility for their debts.
The lawsuits illuminate a dark corner of America's larger medical debt crisis, which a KHN-NPR investigation found has touched more than half of all U.S. adults in the past five years.
Lucille Brooks was stunned when she picked up the phone before Christmas two years ago and learned a nursing home was suing her.
"I thought this was crazy," recalled Brooks, 74, a retiree who lives with her husband in a modest home in the Rochester suburbs. Brooks' brother had been a resident of the nursing home. But she had no control over his money or authority to make decisions for him. She wondered how she could be on the hook for his nearly $8,000 bill.
Brooks would learn she wasn't alone. Pursuing unpaid bills, nursing homes across this industrial city have been routinely suing not only residents but their friends and family, a KHN review of court records reveals. The practice has ensnared scores of children, grandchildren, neighbors, and others, many with nearly no financial ties to residents or legal responsibility for their debts.
The lawsuits illuminate a dark corner of America's larger medical debt crisis, which a KHN-NPR investigation found has touched more than half of all U.S. adults in the past five years.
Nursing homes are suing friends and family to collect on patients' bills
Posted from npr.org
Medical
Health
Money
Finance
Lawsuit
Edited 2 y ago
Posted 2 y ago
Responses: 2
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Robinson, who lives on a fixed income, signed papers for an older friend who was admitted to the county home, and she said she helped staff gather information to enroll her friend in Medicaid.
"As far as I knew, that was that," Robinson recalled. After the friend died, however, the county accused Robinson of taking her friend's assets. The county provided no documentation.
Robinson said there was no money to take, noting that her friend "had spent every single dime." A court ultimately dismissed the case, first reported by WHEC-TV in Rochester. Judge Debra Martin admonished the county for the lack of evidence. "Plaintiff must allege some facts to support its claims," she wrote, noting that the county's case "does not meet the bare minimum requirements."
Ferris, who was sued over his estranged mother's debts, had his case dropped by the nursing home. Valerie King Hoak, a spokesperson for the Kirkhaven nursing home, said the facility "cannot discuss private resident information or potential litigation with third parties."
Brooks is now in the clear, too, after the county dropped its case against her. She said she thinks the signature on the admissions agreement was forged from the nursing home's visitor log, the only thing she signed.
The experience left her shaken. She now tells anyone with a friend or relative in a nursing home not to sign anything. "It's ridiculous," she said. "But why would you ever think they would be coming after you?"
KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation."
..."Robinson, who lives on a fixed income, signed papers for an older friend who was admitted to the county home, and she said she helped staff gather information to enroll her friend in Medicaid.
"As far as I knew, that was that," Robinson recalled. After the friend died, however, the county accused Robinson of taking her friend's assets. The county provided no documentation.
Robinson said there was no money to take, noting that her friend "had spent every single dime." A court ultimately dismissed the case, first reported by WHEC-TV in Rochester. Judge Debra Martin admonished the county for the lack of evidence. "Plaintiff must allege some facts to support its claims," she wrote, noting that the county's case "does not meet the bare minimum requirements."
Ferris, who was sued over his estranged mother's debts, had his case dropped by the nursing home. Valerie King Hoak, a spokesperson for the Kirkhaven nursing home, said the facility "cannot discuss private resident information or potential litigation with third parties."
Brooks is now in the clear, too, after the county dropped its case against her. She said she thinks the signature on the admissions agreement was forged from the nursing home's visitor log, the only thing she signed.
The experience left her shaken. She now tells anyone with a friend or relative in a nursing home not to sign anything. "It's ridiculous," she said. "But why would you ever think they would be coming after you?"
KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation."
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
Egregious. I don't see how they can go after a relative who refuses to pay. But I suppose the threat is that if they don't, their loved one would be tossed out on their own. But that's "dumping," which in several states is illegal.
Egregious. I don't see how they can go after a relative who refuses to pay. But I suppose the threat is that if they don't, their loved one would be tossed out on their own. But that's "dumping," which in several states is illegal.
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