June 8, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contacts: Lauren Shaham, AAHSA, 202-508-1219

Statement from Larry Minnix, President & CEO, American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA), on Nursing Home Survey Revisit User Fees

Washington, D.C. - Nursing home inspections are essential for assuring quality and safety for residents. We applaud the leadership of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education for refusing to renew federal user fees for inspection revisits, which would not improve quality, but merely place onerous fees on top of existing fines. Although the fees would apply to all health care providers, nursing homes would bear the brunt because they are the only provider subject to annual inspections. The fee would have been imposed not only for on-site revisits but for surveyor’s telephone reviews, paper reviews, preparation and travel time.

Under the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ fee proposal, even minor infractions that do not compromise a resident’s care or safety would lead to the imposition of a user fee. Furthermore, the fee would be imposed in addition to fines that were assessed for deficiencies in care and even if the deficiency was overturned on appeal.

Refusing to renew user fees will help not-for-profit nursing homes continue to apply all available resources toward the high-quality care and services their residents deserve.

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About AAHSA
The members of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (www.aahsa.org) help millions of individuals and their families every day through mission-driven, not-for-profit organizations dedicated to providing the services that people need, when they need them, in the place they call home. Our 5,800 member organizations, many of which have served their communities for generations, offer the continuum of aging services: adult day services, home health, community services, senior housing, assisted living residences, continuing care retirement communities and nursing homes. AAHSA’s commitment is to create the future of aging services through quality people can trust.