U.S. Reps. Pete Stark (D-CA) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) recently introduced a new version of the Nursing Home Transparency and Quality of Care Act of 2008 to the House.
The new legislation, H.R. 7128, is similar to the original legislation introduced by Sens. Herb Kohl (D-WI) and Charles Grassley (R-IA) earlier this year. But it contains a number of additional provisions, including a new quality assurance and quality improvement demonstration program.
“As the government pays for 60 percent of spending on nursing homes annually, with 80 percent of residents supported by public funds at any time, we have the responsibility to hold these homes accountable for the quality of care they provide,” Stark in a statement.
Many in the long-term care field oppose the legislation in its current form. The American Health Care Association has called measures in the bill highly subjective, inconsistent, and an inaccurate assessment of quality.
“We’re hoping to work with the offices of Stark and Schakowsky to come together with a bill that we think would better address some of the issues that they’re trying to achieve,” AHCA spokeswoman Susan Feeney told McKnight’s.
See more about the bill at http://www.house.gov/stark/news/legislation.htm.
