SB9: The Wrong Bill for KY Seniors!

 SB 9: The Wrong Bill for Kentucky Seniors

Prepared by the Kentucky Justice Association

SB 9 would create “medical review panels” that would make it harder for residents and their families to go to court when residents are abused or neglected. The panels would review written statements from both sides and then decide on their own if the evidence indicates abuse or neglect - all without speaking to any witnesses. If members of the panel decide they do not find any such evidence, their decision can then be used against the abused or neglected resident in the trial. Putting aside the possible bias, the panels would also create an unnecessary extra step through which residents and families must go to take a claim of abuse and neglect to court and delay the process. And that's without even mentioning the costs to both the families and the state. The bottom line is that we already have a process for determining wrongdoing: our courts. This legislation would create barriers, increase costs and grow the size of Kentucky government – all unnecessarily.

Kentucky Nursing Homes by the Numbers  

• FORTY PERCENT of Kentucky nursing homes are ranked below or much below average by the United States Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.[1]
• In 2012, Kentucky ranked #1 in overall federal fines at $2,071,469.  In fact, the most heavily fined nursing home in 2012 was in Kentucky. 3,273 deficiencies were cited in Kentucky since 2009 (1821 of which were directly related to resident care, rights and safety).[2]
• Kentucky ranks FIRST in average number of serious deficiencies per home, yet nursing homes get paid regardless of the quality of care.[3]
• Poor care is expensive. For example, national data provides estimates showing preventable pressure sores have cost at least $4.8 million over the past three years and preventable resident falls have cost at least $40 million over the same time period[4]…we emphasize “at least.”  And Kentucky taxpayers pay as much as 80 percent of these bills.

Nursing Homes are Profitable

• Nursing home stocks have outpaced Dow Jones and NASDAQ markets by 2:1 and 9:1 margins respectively over the past six months while returns have ranged anywhere from 29 percent to as much as 245 percent, even in a slow economic recovery.[5]
• Nursing home CEO salaries increased by a median 203 percent last year pushing the average annual salary to $3,364,618. Key executive compensation also increased by 15 percent between 2008 and 2011 while frontline caregiver hours remained stagnant.[6]

Altering Data

• An extremely flawed industry report is also being used by the industry to promote their agenda. The report is biased and unsound. It was produced by a company, AON, which works for the industry.
• The “study” reports an upward trend in litigation when, in fact, previous reports show the opposite.[7]
• AON cherry-picked states to compare to Kentucky in order to exhibit favorable comparisons for their needs.

Kentucky Nursing Homes Need More Accountability Not Less

Ask your legislators to protect our loved ones living in these facilities by saying NO to giving them a license to abuse and neglect. Contrary to the industry proposal, our seniors deserve an unbiased venue in which to make their cases without paying higher costs or increasing the size of our government.