A Massachusetts nursing home operator has agreed to pay a state-record total of $4 million and hire an independent compliance monitor to settle allegations that understaffing at its 16 facilities led to substandard care and harmed patients, the state attorney general’s office said Monday.
Record Settlement and Allocation of Funds
Next Step Healthcare LLC will pay $750,000 directly to the state, which will divide the funds between the state’s Medicare program, MassHealth, and a Department of Public Health-administered Long-Term Care Facility Quality Improvement fund, according to the announcement from Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell.
Next Step will be required to spend the remaining $3.25 million on increasing staffing and retention over the next three years to bring the facilities into compliance with state regulations. This task will be overseen by the compliance monitor, the attorney general’s office said.
Massachusetts Nursing Home $4M Fine : Largest Settlement to Date
Campbell said it was the largest settlement ever reached between the attorney general’s office and a nursing home operator. The deal follows a years-long investigation by her office after the Department of Public Health received multiple complaints regarding substandard care and regulatory violations at Next Step’s facilities.
