12 New York Nursing Homes Admit to Unthinkable, Pay $21.3 Million

A New York nursing home network with two locations in the Hudson Valley has admitted to taking advantage of helpless patients.

Anyone who has a parent in long-term care knows just how much trust is handed over to those in charge of tending to the most important people in your life. The incredible expenses involved are happily handed over to make sure elderly family members are cared for with dignity and will spend their final years in comfort.

A group of nursing homes with 12 facilities spread out throughout New York State shocked and horrified those who learned that the very people tasked with caring for the elderly were taking advantage of them for profit. These facilities are located in Poughkeepsie, Pawling, Whitestone, Ilion, Valatie, Island Park, Utica, Chittenango, Great Neck, Rome, Altamont and Batavia.

Allegations Against The Grand Rehabilitation and Nursing

The United States Department of Justice says 12 nursing home facilities operating as The Grand have admitted to billing patients for therapy that was "unreasonable, unnecessary, unskilled or that simply did not occur". The Grand in Pawling has additionally admitted to falsifying claims to Medicaid.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian Boynton says an agreement with The Grand settles allegations that the company falsified records in order to line the company's pockets with money for services that were either unneeded or never provided.

The Grand has admitted that former management members created quotas that all 12 of its facilities were forced to meet. These benchmarks included how long patients had to stay at the facilities and how much money they were billed. In order to reach the quotas, the facilities were alleged to have scheduled therapy and care without concern for whether it was even necessary.

The DOJ says The Grand participated in a scheme that only allowed up to three patients to be discharged from any facility within a week. Patients receiving Medicare Part A were also forbidden from being released without first getting the approval of management. The Grand admits that patients were given therapy "longer than was reasonable and medically necessary."

As a result of the settlement with the DOJ, The Grand has agreed to pay $21.3 million and admit to falsifying records.