In the most complete revision of its nursing home rules in at least 25 years, the Pennsylvania Department of Health last month proposed new regulations that would require more scrutiny of homes’ prospective owners.
For the first time, regulators would analyze the financial strength and past performance of owners — including individuals, not just legal entities — and related companies that seek to take over nursing homes in the state. Historically, officials have effectively rubber-stamped license applications, critics said.
The new regulations are part of the first full revision of the rules for the state’s more than 600 nursing homes since 1997. The process started before the pandemic, but took on more urgency as the coronavirus pandemic laid bare the sector’s weakness. Nursing home residents have accounted for roughly one in six COVID-19 deaths in the United States, a Health Affairs study said last week.
