Last week, a new bill was introduced in the New Jersey legislature to address continued problems in certain New Jersey nursing homes. The bill, co-sponsored by Senator Joseph F. Vitale (D—Middlesex) and Sen. Robert W. Singer (R—Ocean), will attempt to address issues related to financial exploitation in long-term care.
The bill prohibits the personnel of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities—owners, operators, managers, employees—“or other person who benefits financially from a long-term care facility” from managing “the affairs of a [nursing home resident] except pursuant to an order of the Superior Court appointing that person guardian of the principal.” Even more specifically, the bill prohibits such individuals from serving “as an attorney-in-fact for a [resident]. Any power of attorney instrument executed by a [resident] naming [such an individual] shall be deemed invalid.”
In addition, the bill seeks to curtail financial exploitation in long-term care in the admissions process, such as nursing home admissions applications. For example, those that include clauses with an obligation to allow the facility to prepare and file a Medicaid application for the client or an obligation to allow the facility to have access to the resident’s financial history or current accounts.
Nursing home admission agreements often have illegal provisions buried in the fine print. Within four months of enactment, pursuant to the bill, a standardized admissions agreement is to be developed by the NJ Department of Health, and every facility will have to utilize that agreement without modifications. Any arbitration agreement must be a separate document, with a large-type disclosure that signing it is optional.
Also, facilities will be required to give a notice to the resident that says, in capital letters, “YOU HAVE THE OPTION TO HIRE AN ATTORNEY TO ASSIST WITH APPLYING FOR MEDICAL ASSISTANCE LONG-TERM CARE BENEFITS,” and the notice must provide specific disclosure of the risks of hiring a non-attorney application preparer. An acknowledgment of receipt of the notice must be signed and kept in the facility records. The facilities will have to post that notice in a prominent public place near the entrance. A non-attorney preparer must “disclose any financial relationship between the application assistance provider and any long-term care facility, including financial relationships with any parent companies or subsidiaries of the long-term care facility,” and must again advise the individual of their right to hire an attorney for advice.
The bill would also prohibit non-lawyer Medicaid advisors from charging fees and mandate a number of other disclosures.
If financial exploitation in long-term care is an important concern to you, please contact your NJ state legislature. You can find contact information for your local representative by clicking here.