Visiting Nurse Service Under State Scrutiny for Enrollment Practices
The Visiting Nurse Service of New York recently laid off 500 employees after being investigated by the State for enrolling fit elderly people into managed-care programs meant for frail and disabled patients. Audits are being conducted at VNS, as well as two dozen other managed-care companies, of customers that were signed up through social adult day care centers. Although only people that are eligible for long-term-care are supposed to be eligible for the managed-care programs, healthy older people were found bicycling to or from centers, picking up free lunches and playing table tennis in the centers. One center in the Bronx was involved in a political corruption case, its owners accused of bribing a state assemblyman to help them squelch competition.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s redesign of Medicaid in New York gives managed-care companies, rather than the government or an independent agency, main responsibility for determining eligibility for managed long-term care. Representatives of 20 advocacy agencies for low-income and disabled people warned Jason Helgerson, the state’s Medicaid chief, that this process creates a conflict of interest. While plans were eager to sign up the robust clients of social day care centers, many bed-bound elderly suffering from dementia or other more needy patients, were not being allowed to enroll.
LTCAdministrator.com has partnered with Renaissance Home Health Care, a home health care company based in Brooklyn, NY. Renaissance has a team of home care experts that understand the eligibility requirements and can work with patients as well as caregivers to navigate the changing standards, procedures and regulations within the home care industry. For more information about eligibility for home care services or adult day care centers, visit www.renaissancehomehc.com or call 718-690-7435.
Renaissance Home Health Care employs a full staff of nurses, caregivers, personal care aides, home health aides, social workers, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech language pathologists and nutritionists who are dedicated to providing premier home care services with a distinctively personal touch.
To meet the emerging needs of seniors living at home and their caregivers, Renaissance introduced an Adult Day Model which enables seniors to socialize with peers and enjoy the attentive and compassionate care of qualified professionals in a clean, nourishing and supervised setting. Participants benefit from daily social interaction, as well as an array of individualized care services, before returning to their own homes each evening.
LTCAdministrator.com is dedicated to providing quality information and resources for caregivers and health care professionals. For more information on home care services or adult day care models, contact us at info@ltcadministrator.com or 718-382-4200.
