* WBEZ…
Nursing homes accounted for nearly half of Illinois’ COVID-19 deaths. But, as their owners said they were doing all they could about that suffering, they kept showering lawmakers with campaign contributions.
Now the main lobbying group for profit-driven facilities is asking those lawmakers for a big infusion of state dollars in the name of “recovery and stabilization” while fighting proposed accountability measures.
The group, the Health Care Council of Illinois, is pushing state lawmakers for $486 million without strings requiring the money to be spent on staffing and infection control. The council, meanwhile, is opposing legislation drafted by Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration that would focus a Medicaid boost on facilities that eliminate ward-style rooming and improve nurse-to-patient ratios.
“Now is not the time to introduce dramatic policy changes that would significantly disrupt the delivery of care while the pandemic is still active,” HCCI Executive Director Matt Pickering said in a written statement about the Medicaid bill. […]
A WBEZ investigation last year found that the for-profit facilities tended to have lower staffing coverage, which correlated with higher COVID-19 infection and death rates. The investigation also found that nursing home owners routinely hide their profits by paying themselves huge fees through vendors and real-estate firms they control. The complicated ownership structures allow them to cry poor while asking lawmakers to approve increases in state funding.
The most profitable facilities last year had staffing below federal guidelines, according to IDHFS.
Go read the rest.
- Candy Dogood - Thursday, May 27, 21 @ 2:21 pm:
I think it’s telling that there’s a pretty significant interest among those that are able to save for retirement to avoid nursing homes.
What is with these for profit companies making demands on the state to pad their profit margin? Was there a class on rent seeking in business school.
- Teddy Salad - Thursday, May 27, 21 @ 2:23 pm:
Who do they think they are, ComEd?
- Rich Miller - Thursday, May 27, 21 @ 2:24 pm:
===ComEd? ===
Read the story. MJM protected them for decades.
- Morty - Thursday, May 27, 21 @ 2:26 pm:
These people should be prosecuted
- Ginhouse Tommy - Thursday, May 27, 21 @ 2:43 pm:
Who do these people think they’re fooling. We want state funds with no accountability. Fat chance of that. MJM isn’t there to protect them anymore. Face reality. The dribble that they will use the money wisely is a smoke screen. The facilities will remain understaffed. As someone stated in this blog before, Future behavior can be seen in past behavior. More of the same.
- Soccermom - Thursday, May 27, 21 @ 2:52 pm:
I want a pony. But I don’t want to have to feed it or take care of it. Just, you know, a pony. For me.
- JS Mill - Thursday, May 27, 21 @ 3:12 pm:
These guys do not miss a trick. We had a local nursing home reduce their property tax payment by 33% by going to the county PTAB and claim they didn’t make “enough” money and wanted a reduction and it worked.
No money if they don’t want strings.
- Alice - Thursday, May 27, 21 @ 3:20 pm:
JS Mill-
If the property tax was reduced- it was improperly taxed to begin with and that’s at no fault of tax payer. Doesn’t matter how rich they are. If it was over assed then they are entitled to get it correct.
- Anon221 - Thursday, May 27, 21 @ 3:29 pm:
If they want more, then they should have to open their books and prove it. The Medicaid aid amounts to $4629 per month per resident. For the same room and same bed, before someone may have to switch to Medicaid because Medicare and private insurance coverage runs out, that same bed and same care runs up to $10,000 per month. No one, especially this population, should be monetarized for profit.
- Incandenza - Thursday, May 27, 21 @ 3:34 pm:
=== What is with these for profit companies making demands on the state to pad their profit margin? ===
This is what all for profit companies use the state for, it’s how they make most of their profits in the first place
- Help save our seniors in nursing homes - Thursday, May 27, 21 @ 3:35 pm:
My mother was beaten and tortured and they withold her medicine until she stroke out with unstageable wound and her PICC line was pulled out of her arm until she died December 2020 in the profit nursing home in Western Surburbs in Chicago.
I.made numerous call to IDPH which fell on deaf ears and notify the Power to be and our state Legislators. The staff is still.working collecting checks and fooling IDPH when they come in to do an investigation short staff still working and abusing the residents as of today date no one has been held accountable. I wonder how many more of our seniors has to died to hear the voices of their loved ones in the nursing homes.
PRAYING FOR ALL SENIORS IN THE NURSING TO BE PROTECTED . IT’S TO LATE FOR MY MOTHER
- Interim Retiree - Thursday, May 27, 21 @ 3:45 pm:
==Alice “If the property tax was reduced it was improperly taxed… doesn’t matter how rich they are==
I can’t tell you how many meetings I went to that a wealthy corporation in our district challenged their tax rate. Their lawyers got things knocked down $200,000+ & came back the next year for even more. After making improvements to the property.
- Nearly Normal - Thursday, May 27, 21 @ 3:55 pm:
There has to be stipulations and guidelines to get additional money. We are talking about our most vulnerable citizens here. My mother was in a for profit from June 2015 to May 2019. During that time the cost to the family went up but the quality of service was becoming less and less with fewer staff and services. She was not on Medicaid and paid full price. I was saddened to lose her in May, 2019 at 98 but am relieved that she did not have to endure COVID-19 under those circumstances.
- Alice - Thursday, May 27, 21 @ 5:02 pm:
Interim retiree-
I am a property tax lawyer. Everyone always wants to blame the lawyers and “rich “ land owners for reductions and refunds. No one wants to blame the fact that the tax payer was improperly assessed a value that was incorrect. It’s not the tax payers fault that school districts have to give money back- it all goes back to the taxing authority for improperly taxing people.
- Perrid - Thursday, May 27, 21 @ 6:30 pm:
Lol. Alice, “I won therefore I was right” is an argument that makes no sense. Winning a case doesn’t mean you should have won, just because you convince someone to change the tax doesn’t mean the original tax was wrong. See, corruption is a thing that exists in the world, as I’m sure you know. That’s the point you’re intentionally missing
- Alice - Thursday, May 27, 21 @ 7:23 pm:
We win because the property was improperly assessed. There are numerous factors that go into this but people view a Nursing home for example as a big money making machine. Just because they are that- doesn’t mean their property should be over assessed and have to pay extra. The corruption you speak of is little or none. The mistakes come from the taxing authority. If they did a better job- school districts wouldn’t have to give refunds because the proper tax would have already been assessed. We are talking about 500K over in assessments at times- that is negligence and not fair to any tax payer rich or poor.
- Chicago Cynic - Friday, May 28, 21 @ 12:27 am:
“If they want more, then they should have to open their books and prove it.”
Their books are wide open on a regular basis to state regulators.