A nursing home attempting to recoup on unpaid bills must start with a deceased resident’s estate, rather than his spouse, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.
The case reframes the state’s standard for creditors, and could have implications for long-term care entities beyond Ohio that are seeking to collect. Justices voted 5-2 this week that Carlisle Manor Healthcare was required to first file a claim against the estate of its resident, Robert Bell, citing a state law known as the “necessaries statute,” cleveland.com reported.
The nursing home and its parent company, Embassy Healthcare, did not try to figure out whether Bell’s estate was able to foot the bill, the court said. As such, it could not pursue his widow to make a payment, Justice Judith French wrote in the majority opinion.
The two dissenting justices argued the language of the statue does not require a creditor to first pursue payment from the estate, according to cleveland.com.
