I began developing this proposal with Jim Davis and Senator Bob Graham of Florida after we learned in early April that Vencor, Inc., planned to evict 52 Medicaid-dependent residents from a Tampa nursing home, solely due to their Medicaid status. The nursing home fraudulently told the residents they had to leave because the facility was being remodeled. A judge halted the evictions and Vencor subsequently told the patients they could remain. Chairman Bilirakis joined with us and has worked to make this a real bipartisan effort.

This outrageous act revealed a potential loophole in federal nursing home patient protection laws that must be fixed. As a co-author (with Representative Henry Waxman, who also is sponsoring the legislation we introduce today) of comprehensive federal nursing home quality standards enacted in 1987, I strongly support this important measure, and will work with my colleagues on the Commerce Committee toward its prompt enactment.

The legislation we are introducing today:

• Continues Medicaid protection (including resident protections, such as protections against improper transfers and discharge, and enforcement provisions) for all nursing home residents who reside in a nursing facility at the time the facility voluntarily withdraws from Medicaid participation;

  Requires facilities so terminating participation: [1] to provide notice to new residents that the facility no longer participates in Medicaid and may transfer or discharge residents even though they may become eligible for Medicaid benefits, and [2] to obtain a signed acknowledgment of the notice;

• Provides for the application of similar requirements in the case of a nursing facility that voluntarily reduces to a significant extent (but does not eliminate) Medicaid participation in the case of residents who are (or within 90 days become) eligible for Medicaid assistance;

• Applies to voluntary terminations and reductions in participation occurring on and after date of enactment;

• Requires HHS to report to Congress within 5 years on the impact of the implementation of the legislation and the impact of changes in Medicaid reimbursement rates on Medicaid participation and on access to and quality of Medicaid nursing facility services.

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