Lawmaker praised for urging oversight relief

The American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living, Washington, praised Rep. Tom Latham (R-Iowa) for submitting a report that aims to limit duplicative oversight of nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

In his role as chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies, Latham submitted a report as part of the appropriations process that recommends to the Housing and Urban Development Department that it rely on state and local regulatory inspections regarding HUD loans to nursing homes and assisted living facilities made under Section 232 of the National Housing Act.

Hospitals that borrow with HUD assistance, governed by Section 242 of the act, are not subject to inspections by HUD's Real Estate Assessment Center inspectors, the report notes. The committee directed HUD to issue regulations limiting REAC inspections for facilities with loans insured under Section 232 to only those for which state or local government does not inspect or provide for sufficient inspections in accordance with the CMS or applicable state or local law.

“In these tough economic times, our profession is already suffering billions in Medicare and Medicaid cuts, and the cost burdens that come with these duplicative surveys add more to this difficulty,” said Mark Parkinson, president and CEO of AHCA/NCAL, in a news release. “We applaud the committee for including language in its report to limit these surveys,” Parkinson said.