Why Medicaid may be the underlying reason for discharge

Medicaid, the federal and state government subsidized program which pays for medical care for those who cannot afford it, may be the underlying reason that many nursing home residents are being discharged. According to a recent article in the Washington state newspaper, The Olympian (www.theolympian.com), elder care facilities such as nursing homes, assisted care facilities and others can make more money from patients covered by private insurance companies than they can with those whose benefits come from Medicaid.

In fact, the state of Washington generally only pays elder care facilities about half the cost of what they charge – far less than what a private insurance company would pay. Unfortunately for patients, many nursing homes look for the first possible opportunity to get rid of Medicaid patients – the trauma of which often kills them.

Dumping & transfer trauma

Dumping and transfer trauma are two terms that no family of someone in an elder care facility wants to hear. Here’s what they mean:

• Dumping. Dumping is a term used to describe when facilities seize an opportunity to get rid of a Medicaid patient by refusing to allow them back into the facility if they’ve had to go to the hospital. Many patients who’ve been “dumped” simply have nowhere else to go and it then becomes the hospital’s responsibility to find them beds in other facilities or sometimes, in shelters.
• Transfer trauma. Transfer trauma refers to the trauma often experienced by transferring an elderly patient to another facility. In many cases, patients have become comfortable in their facility’s surroundings and a transfer to another facility – again, often due to the patient’s change from private insurance to Medicaid – simply forces them to abandon their will to live.

While it’s illegal for nursing homes to get rid of patients simply because they’re on Medicaid, the Olympian reports that many facilities find reasons to characterize the situation such as the patient was difficult or that the facility couldn’t adequately provide the level of care needed.

Experts say that this trend is likely to continue as more and more of our population requires some form of elder care assistance. In fact, the Administration on Aging estimates that over 20 million people over age 85 will be living in the United States by the year 2050. That number now? Only four million.

If you or your loved one has been wrongfully discharged from an elder care facility, contact an experienced nursing home abuse attorney to discuss your situation and evaluate your options. Consultations are free, without obligation and are strictly confidential.