NURSING HOMES: Times Urges More Oversight
An editorial in Sunday's Los Angeles Times said that "Washington and Sacramento need to follow through this time" on correcting the state of nursing homes in California and throughout the nation. Senate hearings on a federal General Accounting Office probe of California nursing homes revealed that care in many California nursing homes is sub-standard. The editorial contends that "state and federal regulators should help ensure that the elderly are treated with dignity, given proper medication and well cared for." In addition, the government should get "its money's worth." In California, it costs $3,460 a month -- most of which comes from Medicare and Medi-Cal -- to care for a nursing home patient. The Times said "California should have enacted tougher regulations, despite opposition from the politically powerful nursing home industry," and should do a better job of enforcing regulations. The editorial concludes: "After last month's hearings, a federal regulator said inspectors would single out the worst homes in various regions and ride herd on them. That's a pledge that must be kept. Agencies using taxpayer money to pay most nursing home bills need to do their job and help the elderly receive the treatment they deserve" (8/16).
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