Gov. Martin O'Malley (D)

Roughly 160 nursing homes in Maryland are set to share in a $16 million state settlement that eliminates the debt of more than 12,000 nursing home residents.

Maryland, and some other states, had been miscalculating patient contributions to nursing home care, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Medicaid patients who had accumulated debt were being charged co-payments for their nursing home care. As a result of the settlement, Medicaid residents will not be charged co-pays for nursing home care. They instead can use that money to pay down the debt they incurred at the facility while waiting to qualify for the program, according to the Baltimore Sun.

To clear some of the old debt owed to nursing homes, the state is making a one-time $16 million payment to the homes. The state will also make up the amount of co-pays lost by no longer requiring Medicaid patients to pay, according to the Sun.