Casey Applauds Efforts to Increase Transparency of Nursing Home Ownership
Proposed rule would require nursing homes to report to agency on ownership and management, shine a light on private equity ownership of facilities
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Aging, is applauding a proposed rule from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to increase transparency of nursing home ownership and management. Opaque nursing home ownership structures have often made it difficult to track quality and compliance across nursing homes with the same owner. Several studies and independent investigations have reported private equity ownership is associated with higher costs for patients and the federal government, a reduction in staffing in order to deliver short-term gains, and is potentially an overall detriment to the quality of patient care.
“For years, I have been pushing for transparency in nursing homes, from ownership and management to COVID-19 vaccination data. Patients, families, and workers deserve transparent, timely, and clear information about nursing homes to make the best decisions about care. I applaud the Biden Administration for moving this proposed rule forward to shine a light on private equity ownership of nursing homes and provide older Americans and their families with the transparency they deserve,” said Senator Casey.
The proposed rule would require nursing homes to share with states and CMS additional ownership and management information. The proposed rule also includes private equity and real estate investment trust definitions, setting the stage for the disclosure of whether nursing home owners are private equity investors or real estate investment trusts. It would require nursing homes enrolled in Medicare or Medicaid to disclose additional information regarding owners, operators, and management; for example, nursing homes would disclose individuals or entities that provide administrative services or clinical consulting services.
Since before his time in the Senate, Senator Casey has pushed for nursing home transparency and accountability. Senator Casey led multiple oversight initiatives, calling on the federal government to release data on case counts and deaths among residents and later on COVID-19 vaccination rates in nursing homes. These successful initiatives led to the publication of data sets that shed light on the true extent of the crisis and gave families needed transparency regarding the pace of vaccinations among residents and staff. In 2009, Senator Casey cosponsored bipartisan legislation that proposed policies around nursing home ownership transparency, which was included in the Affordable Care Act, and is reflected in the new proposed rule from CMS.
