Regulators try to stop unlawful nursing home debt collection
A federal report says nursing homes and debt collectors are flouting a law that prohibits them from requiring friends and family of care home residents to be responsible for costs of the facilities
WASHINGTON (AP) — Nursing homes and debt collectors are flouting a law that prohibits them from requiring friends and family of care home residents to shoulder the costs of the facilities, according to a federal report issued Thursday.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said friends and family members have had to declare bankruptcy, had their wages garnished and their homes repossessed after signing unenforceable contracts called “admission agreements” with nursing facilities. As a result, they have been held liable as third parties for their loved ones' nursing home stays.
Distraught relatives, in sometimes emotional testimony, and lawyers for families told regulators Thursday about collectors seeking tens of thousands of dollars — even hundreds of thousands — in unpaid nursing home fees.
An increase in complaints led the agency and Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to send a letter to nursing homes and their debt collectors reminding them to follow the law.
