Officials for a New York county overstepped their authority when they created a law that requires nursing homes to report injuries and abuse to county officials twice a year. This is according to long-term care providers, who recently made this argument in a lawsuit looking to overturn the mandate.
The New York State Health Facilities Association filed a lawsuit Friday in New York State Supreme Court in an effort to have “Ruthie’s Law” declared unconstitutional and stop Erie County officials from enforcing it, WBFO reported.
“We were frankly dismayed that for so long we were being portrayed as scofflaws and noncompliant nursing homes, which is the furthest thing from the truth,” Neil Murray, an attorney representing the NYSHFA, told the news organization. “The irony is that it was Erie County that was actually violating the law, not us.”
Nursing homes are also required to submit proof they’re sharing their star ratings with prospective clients under the law regulation, which was passed in 2017.
Providers have previously argued that the law is redundant since state law already requires facilities to report abuse, injuries and neglect to the New York State Department of Health. They’ve also noted that nursing home ratings are already publicly available on federal and state websites.
Figures released in late October revealed that just 12 of 36 of the county’s nursing facilities were in compliance with the law. Last week, officials announced it would fine nursing homes that hadn’t complied with the law by the end of February.
“We felt we had to take a stand,” Murray said, “and we tried everything as a last resort to not be in a situation where fines are being unfairly imposed on us.”
