Why repeat offender nursing homes elude accountability

Why repeat offender nursing homes elude accountability 
Modern Healthcare; by Diane Eastabrook and Tim Broderick; 12/10/24 
Fallbrook Rehabilitation and Care Center stands out as one of the worst among the more than 1,200 nursing homes in Texas and the nearly 15,000 facilities nationwide. Over a three-year period at the skilled nursing facility in Houston, one patient died after staff did not notice her ventilator had disconnected.  ... The Texas Department of Health and Human Services cited Fallbrook for more than 50 other health and safety violations. Fallbrook was fined about $640,000 between April 2021 and July 2023, according to Modern Healthcare analysis of April 2024 CMS data. The amount was among the top 30 fines paid by nursing homes nationally and was more than six times the average fine other Texas nursing homes with CMS one-star ratings were assessed during that period. Yet the 200-bed nursing home collected more than $20 million in reimbursements from Medicare, Medicaid and health insurance companies in 2021 and 2022, ... The ownership groups can control facilities through convoluted webs of individuals, private equity investors, limited liability companies, real estate investment trusts and other trusts that often transfer money to related companies or third parties with ownership interests in the nursing homes. The Human and Human Services Department Office of Inspector General has identified this as a problem.