California Nursing Home Industry Should Work To Improve State’s ‘Woeful’ Facilities, Editorial States
The California nursing home industry should work to improve the "woeful state" of California nursing homes, which rank "among the worst" in the nation, rather than "thwarting abused patients' rights," a Contra Costa Times editorial states. According to the editorial, the California Association of Health Facilities plans to launch an $8 million campaign to lobby state lawmakers to limit jury awards and restrict trial evidence in lawsuits against nursing homes, a move that the editorial calls "dismaying." The editorial states, "Instead of improving health care, the nursing home industry is proposing an assessment of $60 a bed to pay for a lobbying effort to persuade legislators to distort the legal process to favor nursing homes." The editorial points out that a study released last month by the California HealthCare Foundation found that two-thirds of California's 1,400 nursing homes failed to meet state and federal standards. "Dealing with that problem should be at the top of the association's agenda," the editorial states, adding, "Making a rigged legal system a top priority says a lot about the state's nursing home industry, and none of it is good" (Contra Costa Times, 11/14).
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