AHCA Slams Wyden Report as ‘Rehashed, Red Herring Arguments’

A Senate Finance Committee report authored by the Democratic minority staff that skewers the nation’s nursing home sector for allowing “bad actors” to manipulate ownership laws and skirt adequate care for residents drew a sharp rebuke from AHCA/NCAL President and CEO Clif Porter, who called the effort a major “disservice.”

The report, which was signed by only two members of the 13-member minority on the Finance panel, and two other Democrats, follows closely on the issuance last week of an expansive RFI by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), ranking member of the Finance Committee, who along with Sens. Elzabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) signed the minority staff report.

The staff termed the report an “investigation” of the nursing home sector.

In the RFI, which seeks input on a series of issues tied to long-term care, Senate Dems issued some of the same claims against the nursing home sector that are in the minority staff report, including slamming providers for lobbying against and winning the elimination of Biden-ere minimum staffing requirements after asking the Trump Administration for the change.

But this new report issued on Oct. 29 goes much further than the RFI in questioning how the nursing home profession is managed, regulated, financed, and punished, and tracks the actions of a small number of providers who have run afoul of the law. The report also takes on lobbying efforts by AHCA/NCAL in a broader sense.

Porter’s Rebuke

In the response by Porter, he says, “It’s unfortunate that a select group of lawmakers are focused on sensationalizing our advocacy efforts and misconstruing the facts about the skilled nursing profession. Rehashing red herring arguments or failed, antiquated policies is a disservice to our nation’s seniors and those who commit their careers to serving our most vulnerable.” 

Porter continued by saying, “Those of us who get into long-term care do so because we feel a sense of duty to care for the elderly and individuals with disabilities. The reality is that it is really hard to run a nursing home, and most facilities operate on shoestring budgets.”

He said the focus should be on the bigger picture and addressing systemic challenges, like chronic Medicaid underfunding, which have led to a volatile long-term care market.

“With more sustainable and predictable investments, qualified and passionate providers can better support their residents, caregivers, and communities. At the same time, the best way to drive quality and uphold accountability across the sector is to incentivize providers—no matter their profile—to deliver on the metrics that matter for residents.” 

Never Helped ‘Bad Actors’

On the “bad actor” bent of the report, Porter said, “We also want to be clear: AHCA/NCAL has never lobbied the Administration for clemency for individual providers found guilty of wrongdoing, and we fully support efforts to root out bad actors from the long-term care profession. They have no place in caring for our nation’s seniors and individuals with disabilities, and they tarnish the majority of our caregivers who are firmly dedicated to delivering the highest quality care.”  

Lastly, he said politics should not be the priority. “It’s time to put politics aside and collaborate on finding a better way forward for our nation’s growing elderly population. We stand ready to work with Congress on bipartisan, commonsense solutions that promote quality, strengthen our workforce, and target accountability.” 

The Report 

In the Senate Finance minority report, the key findings included, directly from the report, in the words of the Democratic staff:

“The Senate Committee on Finance Minority investigation established the following:

1. Investment entities have built business models that systematically extract taxpayer dollars from nursing homes. One study found nursing home owners tunnel 68 percent of profits through related party arrangements and keep the profits for themselves. Even in nursing homes not owned by private entities, unscrupulous owners use a similar playbook of complex and opaque related party arrangements to siphon profits. These siphoned profits can then be shielded through Chapter 11 bankruptcy, wiping away liability and leaving the cycle to repeat itself.

2. The financial structures used to siphon money from nursing homes are largely invisible to regulators and families. The Trump administration indefinitely suspended broad reporting under new transparency requirements to compel nursing homes to disclose more detailed information about their ownership and management structures, including the role of private equity, real estate investment trusts (REITs), and related parties.

3. The oversight system meant to catch bad actors is underfunded and failing. Nearly a third of nursing homes are behind on annual inspections. As examples, long-term care ombudsmen are forced to address more complaints with fewer dollars. The Special Focus Facility program, which targets oversight of the worst performing nursing homes, covers fewer than one-tenth of one percent of facilities, and two-thirds of its graduates slip back into serious non-compliance within three years.

4. Trump rewarded nursing home bad actors with pardons, commutations, and political appointments, all while claiming to mount a faulty “full-scale war on fraud.” Trump nominated Benjamin Landa, a nursing home owner dealing with multiple New York state lawsuits alleging fraud and neglect, as ambassador to Hungary two months after Landa contributed $5 million to Trump’s super PAC. Trump pardoned nursing home owners, Joseph Schwartz and Paul Walczak, and commuted the sentence of nursing home owner Philip Esformes.

5. Nursing home residents across the country are suffering preventable harm, including neglect, infections, and death due to chronic understaffing. The nursing home industry successfully lobbied the Trump administration and Congressional Republicans to repeal the federal nursing home staffing standard that would have saved 13,000 lives per year.”

Read the Senate Finance minority report.

Read the Park Place article on the RFI issued by Senate Democrats at Senate Democrats Issue RFI Seeking Radical Changes to SNFs | Park Place.

Comments or questions? Contact Patrick Connole at pconnole@parkplacelive.com.