The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has added a new item to its 2019 Work Plan. The OIG will be reviewing nursing home involuntary transfers and discharges to determine the extent to which:
- State Long-Term Care Ombudsman work on addressing involuntary transfers/discharges
- State Agencies (SAs) investigated and took action against nursing homes for inappropriate transfers/discharges
- Nursing homes meet CMS requirements for transfers/discharges
Discharge planning requirements were greatly expanded under the updated Requirements of Participation (RoPs) for nursing homes, and involuntary discharges have been catching the attention of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), LTC Ombudsman organizations and the media for a while now.
Review the full details of the November 2018 Work Item, “Involuntary Transfer and Discharges in Nursing Homes” on the OIG website.