Nursing home chain agrees to pay $38M to settle government poor care claims

Extendicare, which owns 150 nursing homes in 11 states and denied any wrongdoing, was accused of inappropriate billing and providing inadequate care.

The Associated Press: Nursing Home Chain To Pay $38M In U.S. Settlement
A nursing home chain has agreed to pay $38 million to resolve allegations that it billed Medicare and Medicaid for substandard care at nearly three dozen facilities around the country, the Justice Department said Friday. A federal investigation into Extendicare Health Services Inc. accused the company of failing to provide appropriate care, follow safety protocols or maintain enough skilled nurses. Those lapses in some cases resulted in head injuries to residents, falls, bed sores and fractures and cases of malnutrition, dehydration and infection, the government said (Tucker, 10/10).

The New York Times: Chain To Pay $38 Million Over Claims Of Poor Care
One of the nation's biggest nursing home chains, Extendicare, has agreed to pay $38 million to resolve federal claims that it inappropriately billed for physical therapy and provided such poor care to residents that it was effectively worthless, the Justice Department said on Friday. The settlement with Extendicare, which owns about 150 homes in 11 states, is the largest settlement in the department's history involving a nursing home chain accused of providing substandard care to residents (Thomas, 10/10).

The Wall Street Journal: Extendicare To Pay $38 Million In Medicare, Medicaid Billing Settlement
A U.S. nursing home chain has agreed to pay $38 million to end a government investigation into whether it billed Medicare and Medicaid for poor care of elderly residents. ... The company denied engaging in illegal conduct and agreed to the final settlement without any admission of wrongdoing. The company also agreed to be subject to a compliance program to monitor resident care. U.S. investigators said Extendicare Health understaffed nursing homes, alleging that in some instances it failed to provide adequate catheter care and failed to follow procedures to prevent bed sores and falls (Armour and Barrett, 10/10).

Reuters: Nursing Home Chain To Pay $38M Over Deficient Care Claims
Extendicare Health Services Inc has agreed to pay $38 million to the U.S. government and eight states to settle allegations that it billed Medicare and Medicaid for substandard nursing care and unnecessary rehabilitation therapy. The settlement is the largest paid by a nursing home chain to the government over failure to provide care, the U.S. Department of Justice said Friday. Extendicare, which operates more than 140 facilities in 11 states, denied any wrongdoing. Its parent company, Extendicare Inc, is Canadian and the U.S. head office is in Milwaukee (Pierson, 10/10).