[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 116 (Friday, September 5, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1677]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              NURSING HOME PUBLIC INFORMATION ACT OF 1997

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 5, 1997

  Mr. TOWNS. Mr. Speaker, when millions of Americans must make the 
difficult decision to put an aging relative in a nursing home, we trust 
the institution to care properly for our loved ones. But as a recent 
General Accounting Office [GAO] study points out, nursing homes across 
the United States don't always treat the 1.8 million residents like 
family.
  At a time when the nursing home industry is undergoing explosive 
growth as a result of an aging population, my recently introduced 
Nursing Home Public Information Act of 1997 would allow families to 
make an informed choice when choosing a nursing home. By directing HHS 
to publicly disseminate information currently compiled in databases 
maintained or available to HHS concerning nursing homes, this bill 
takes a step in the right direction toward educating the public.
  While most nursing homes adhere to Federal and State regulations, 
each year billions of dollars are lost to fraud and abuse. According to 
the GAO, Federal Medicare and Federal/State Medicaid programs paid 
nursing home providers more than $35 billion in 1995. The Department of 
Justice estimates that as much as 10 percent is lost to fraud and 
abuse.
  By aggressively targeting five States, the Department of Health and 
Human Services [HHS], through Operation Restore Trust, has obtained 74 
criminal convictions and recovered $67.3 million for Medicare. More 
than four dozen civil suits have collected $72.8 million in fines and 
settlements, and companies have returned another $47.4 million.
  Convicting abusive providers, levying fines, recovering overpayments, 
negotiating settlements--all these actions are necessary to reduce 
fraud and abuse. But they will never be more than the second best way 
to do this. The best way is to prevent fraud, abuse, and waste from 
occurring in the first place. This requires informing the public. As a 
recent Government Reform and Oversight Human Resources Subcommittee 
hearing revealed, the public receives little or no information relating 
to fraud, abuse, and quality of care in nursing homes.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join my efforts to assist 
millions of families across the Nation by supporting the Nursing Home 
Public Information Act of 1997.

                          ____________________