NURSING HOMES: Assembly Bill Would Boost Funding, Fines
The state Assembly "put our money where our mothers are," according to supporters, and passed a bill yesterday that would boost state funding for nursing homes and ramp up penalties for wayward facilities, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Assemblyman Kevin Shelly's (D-San Francisco) bill, which would increase the maximum penalties for homes from $25,000 to $100,000 and allocate $36 million in Medi-Cal funding to boost staffing levels and wages, sailed through the Assembly 52-11 and goes on to the state Senate. Nursing home operators argued that the $36 million -- which will be doubled by federal matching funds -- "would not be enough to pay for the training needed to meet the level of care required by Shelly's bill," and said they would need $250 million. Opponents of the bill also argued that with many good nursing home operators in the state, Shelly's bill would "punish the good along with the bad" (Lucas, 6/4).
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