Nursing Home Survey & Certification

During the past several years, government and news reports have documented cases of abuse, neglect, and malnutrition in too many nursing homes across the country. In 1998, the GAO found that more than one-third of nursing homes had serious care problems and that current safeguards were inadequate to protect nursing home residents. In response, the Clinton Administration created a new Nursing Home Initiative and the Bush Administration is continuing that effort. The Nursing Home Initiative requires states to make inspections less predictable, to respond quickly to complaints, and to refer deficiencies for immediate sanctions.

Despite these efforts, more needs to be done to protect nursing home residents. A recent GAO report, prepared at the request of Senator Kohl, found widespread inconsistencies in state inspections of nursing home facilities. The report found that state surveyors missed serious care problems, even in states that had succeeded in improving overall patient care. In addition, state survey agencies' workloads have increased substantially: according to CMS data, state surveyors were expected to make over 47,000 complaint visits in FY 2007.

The federal government is the primary source of funding for nursing home oversight activities. It is clear that state survey agencies are not funded sufficiently, and Senator Kohl is committed to rectifying that.