Massachusetts requires nursing home owners to file annual financial reports, but reporter Kay Lazar learned that regulators had not reviewed these documents for years — even as Medicaid spends about $1 billion a year in the state’s nursing homes. Kay scoured the latest financial reports from all of the state’s roughly 400 nursing homes — the reports encompassed thousands of pages — and compared them with inspection reports for each facility. She discovered that nursing home owners often reported a loss while directing cash to a constellation of subsidiaries, and paid hefty salaries to their executives, relatives, or board members. She also found that quality of care, even how much fresh fruits and vegetables patients might receive, often hinges on a factor few consider: whether a nursing home operates as a for-profit company. Keeping her spotlight trained on profits and care, Kay’s stories revealed the stark consequences when nursing homes cut corners and lives are at stake.
