Many elderly and disabled people take up residency in nursing homes following a hospital visit and pay for the services with Medicare. However, Medicare coverage is limited to 100 days of rehabilitation. Unfortunately, nursing homes around the country exploit these short term patients and evict them as soon as their Medicare coverage runs out.
While some nursing facilities will market themselves as short term rehabilitation centers, this is untrue. In order to be a licensed nursing home in California, facilities must offer long term care. In order to continue receiving care after Medicare coverage ends, patients must choose another payment plan. Medi-Cal, California’s health insurance coverage for low income elderly and disabled people, is a common payment source for these individuals because of the low payment rates.
In a Medi-Cal certified facility, all Medicare patients have the right to switch to Medi-Cal if eligible and cannot be evicted until a decision is made regarding their application. Therefore, any facility that coerces its patients to leave or evicts them without due cause is acting against legal requirements. If you are being pressured to leave a nursing facility voluntarily, you are not obligated to leave without a reasonable legal cause for eviction. If you feel you have been discharged illegally, it is important to report the incident to the Department of Public Health.
There are issues with nursing and assisted living facilities throughout the country, and the eviction epidemic is just one more way of exploiting our elderly and disabled populations. It is crucial to know and understand your rights to prevent unfair and unlawful treatment.
Santaella Legal Group, APC, serves the San Ramon, Danville, Dublin Tri-Valley Bay Area.
If you have any questions, please schedule a consult with Santaella Legal Group using the following link: https://SantaellaLegalGroupAppointment.as.me/