An insight into the US sector.
Although the homes were initially not publicly identified, Pennsylvania senators released a list of all 400 homes called out for “poor care” by the US Federal Government in a Senate Report last week.
Pennsylvania's senators published the list after questioning why the homes’ names are not disclosed like those in a smaller group of facilities where inspectors found health, safety or sanitary problems.
Typically, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services publicly discloses the names of only 80 aged care facilities that investigators frequently check on to resolve documented issues. The agency refers to them as the Special Focus Facility program.
Like the Australian system, if the homes don't improve, they face sanctions – and can be cut off from healthcare services such as Medicare and Medicaid.
But the senators say they felt the entire list of “problematic” facilities should be named, stating a family’s right to know if a home “suffers from systemic shortcomings” before placing a loved one in its care.
