Meanwhile legislators vote to limit nursing home accountability.
INDIANAPOLIS — A newly released study found that Indiana provides the worst care in the United States for seniors and those with disabilities. The study, conducted by AARP Public Policy Institute, ranked Indiana dead last — 51st out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia on its Long-Term Services and Supports State Scorecard.
Significantly, this AARP study comes at a time when some Indiana members of the House of Representatives just recently voted in favor of federal legislation (H.R. 1215) that will protect any nursing homes found by an Indiana judge or jury to have committed patient neglect and abuse resulting in serious injury or death. Under the federal legislation, the value of a patient’s life would be limited to $250K, regardless of whether the patient died from nursing home abuse, or how badly the patient was neglected or suffered. It should be noted even prior to this vote, Indiana already has some of the strictest caps on damages that protect healthcare providers who are found negligent. The Indiana legislators who voted to protect the nursing home industry even further are:
- ● Jackie Walorski (2nd District)
- ● Jim Banks (3rd District)
- ● Todd Rokita (4th District)
- ● Susan Brooks (5th District)
- ● Luke Messer (6th District)
- ● Larry Bucshon (8th District), and
- ● Trey Hollingsworth (9th District).
The House bill passed by just a few votes, and could have been stopped by the Indiana legislators. The bill will now head to the Senate.
The AARP study found that Indiana, among a few other states, has remained in the bottom-ranked states over the past three scorecards dating back to 2011. While the report found Indiana care to be the worst in the U.S., the median annual cost of care for private pay charged by Indiana nursing homes is $91,980.
The study also found that Indiana’s rate of high-risk patients with pressure sores nearly doubled the rate for the top states (185% higher).
Link: 2017 Long-Term State Scorecard
You can contact your Indiana Senators to tell them to OPPOSE LIABILITY CAPS on bad nursing homes:
The Powless Law Firm is an Indiana law firm that represents victims and families state-wide in serious cases involving nursing home neglect, medical negligence, personal injury and wrongful death. If you have concerns about nursing home neglect or abuse, please contact us at 877-769-5377. Together we can make a difference.
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