PHCA/CALM CEO Calls for Continued Focus on the Elderly by Governor-elect Wolf

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s skilled nursing facilities rank among the best in the country for quality initiatives. Since January 2013, Pennsylvania has seen a 63 percent increase in nursing facilities with five-star categorical quality ratings, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) nursing home five-star quality rating system.

Pennsylvania Health Care Association and Center for Assisted Living Management (PHCA/CALM) CEO Stuart H. Shapiro, M.D. attributes this continued improvement in nursing home quality to the fact that Governor Tom Corbett and the legislature made funding for the elderly and disability communities a priority during his administration.

During the taping of a statewide public affairs TV program, which is set to begin airing this weekend, Shapiro urged Governor-elect Tom Wolf and the incoming administration to continue efforts to ensure that elderly and disabled Pennsylvanians have access to a quality and robust long-term care system.

“Despite the fiscal challenges that the state has faced over the past four years, Governor Tom Corbett maintained his promise to make the needs of the elderly and disabled a funding priority for his administration,” said Dr. Shapiro. “And based on what he said during his campaign, we are hopeful that Governor-elect Wolf will continue to make funding of nursing home care a priority.”

Shapiro also warned that despite Pennsylvania’s skilled nursing facilities improvement in quality over the past several years, frivolous lawsuits are jeopardizing those improvements because they divert resources that should go towards patient care into the pockets of out-of-state predatory lawyers. Pennsylvania ranks as one of the most “plaintiff friendly” states in America, which has created an environment where long-term care facilities are marked as easy targets.

“Many fail to realize just how dangerous frivolous lawsuits are,” said Shapiro, who recently was named by Gov.-elect Tom Wolf to serve on state Department of Health transition team. “These unnecessary filings contribute to the rising cost of long-term care and actually jeopardizing quality care by forcing facilities, which already operate on shoestring budgets, to divert valuable time and resources from patient care to prepare their defenses.”

Although sixth in population, Pennsylvania ranked second among all 50 states both in total medical malpractice payouts and payouts per capita in 2014. According to the 2014 Medical Malpractice Payout Analysis published by Diederich Healthcare, those medical malpractice payouts total $357 million — a $41 million increase from 2012. Ninety five percent of the payouts were settlements, not judgments.

“Aggressive plaintiff attorneys seek to cash in by forcing facilities to settle out of court rather than risk the prospect of hefty payments,” Shapiro said. “Patients deserve to be fairly compensated for errors, but our health care system cannot afford to divert resources to out-of-state predatory lawyers seeking “jackpots” because there are no punitive damages limitations for skilled nursing facilities, assisted living residences and personal care homes as there are for physicians.”

While punitive damages awards are infrequent, they can be astronomical. Without protections, providers and their insurers are more likely to settle a weak case than risk a runaway jury that could bankrupt their business.

Before the limits were placed on cases against physicians, doctors had been facing large numbers of frivolous lawsuits, and they were settling cases for fear of unpredictable jury verdicts. Now, with protections against punitive damages on their side, doctors litigate nearly 80 percent of their cases. Nursing homes, on the other hand, settle 80 percent of their cases because they fear astronomical punitive damages awards could bankrupt them.

These lawsuits contradict trends in quality, Shapiro said. Pennsylvania’s nursing centers continue to surpass major milestones.

According to U.S. News & World Report, which uses the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ five-star system to rank the country’s best nursing homes, Pennsylvania skilled nursing facilities have improved on 16 of 18 CMS quality measures from the second quarter of 2013 to the second quarter of 2014.

With a focus on enhancing treatment services and improving the overall experience for residents, skilled nursing facilities are leading the way in clinical outcomes, with reductions of urinary tract infections, pressure ulcers, use of antipsychotic medication, resident pain and more.

“The results are clear. Pennsylvania’s skilled nursing facilities continue to provide the highest level of care to the men and women who rely on our centers for their daily living needs, and comfort to the families who entrust us with their care,” Shapiro said.

“During his campaign, Tom Wolf made clear that health care for all Pennsylvanians was a priority, including protecting an aging and disabled population that’s struggling. I could not agree more,” Shapiro said. “He can fulfill that promise by ensuring that the administration’s 2015-2016 budget provides adequate funds for the elderly and disabled and that common-sense reforms of our judicial system are supported.”

“Pennsylvania Newsmakers” is one of the state’s premier politics and public policy television talk shows. The show is available at www.phca.org and will air regionally:

• WGAL Channel 8 (Harrisburg and Lancaster) Sunday, Jan. 18 at 7:30 a.m.
• WBPH (Lehigh Valley and Philadelphia) Monday, Jan. 19 at 8:30 p.m.
• WKBS 47 (Altoona) Saturday, Jan. 24 at 9:30 a.m.
• WPCB 40 (Pittsburgh) Saturday, Jan. 24 at 9:30 a.m.