We hear all the time in our nursing home abuse cases that the facility just doesn’t make enough money to hire a sufficient number of nurses to properly care for the residents. The owners argue that most of their residents are Medicaid beneficiaries and Medicaid just doesn’t pay enough to really provide good care. This is a bunch of Baloney…if not something even worse!
Now we read a story that a Tennessee nursing home owner has even been cheating Medicaid! Earlier this year, a federal grand jury indicted Billie Anderson, the former owner of Anderson Healthcare in Gray, TN. She was indicted after an investigation concluded she collected payments for seven months in 2002 and 2003 without a licensed physician to serve as the medical director of the facility. That’s a violation of state and federal regulations.
Anderson’s criminal trial is currently underway. The jury heard from a lot of witnesses including state auditor, Richard Rogers, who testified that Anderson received $1.3 million in state and federal money from April 2002 through December 2002. Further, the investigation revealed Anderson received an additional $100,000 in January 2003 for a total of $1.4 million. The nursing home is currently owned by Life Care Centers of America.
How many RNs and CNAs can be hired for $1.4 million? My bet is a lot!