Massachusetts legislators are demanding to know why state health regulators kept approving nursing home buyers with troubled records. The questions come less than two weeks before the Public Health Council is scheduled to vote on October 14 on tougher ownership rules. The rules would carry out a 2024 law that lets the Department of Public Health (DPH) consider an operator's out-of-state track record before granting a license.
For families, the stakes are practical. Few relatives can easily tell when a loved one's nursing home changes hands, and the new rules are meant to give regulators more power to say no before quality slips. The rules are not yet in effect.
