Regulators try to stop unlawful nursing home debt collection
By FATIMA HUSSEIN
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal report says nursing homes and debt collectors are flouting a law that prohibits them from requiring friends and family of care home residents to be responsible for costs of the facilities. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says friends and family members have had to declare bankruptcy, had their wages garnished and their homes repossessed. That’s after they signed unenforceable contracts called “admission agreements” with nursing facilities, resulting in them being held liable as third parties for their loved ones’ nursing home stays. Distraught relatives and lawyers for families told federal regulators Thursday about collectors seeking tens of thousands of dollars — even hundreds of thousands — in unpaid nursing home fees.
