Following an investigation by Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman’s office and the state Department of Health, Goshen-based nursing home chain Elant Inc. will be required to pay $600,000 to settle claims that it delayed the release of short-term residents at its six homes in the Hudson Valley in order to boost slumping patient counts.
According to Schneiderman, between 2008 and 2011 Elant postponed the release of residents who were ready to leave its facilities against their wishes, many of whom had Medicare or Medicaid coverage, as a means of further financial gain. An investigation found that many of the patients were given additional services that were not clinically necessary.
Elant also admitted to transferring several of its long-term residents to its Briarcliff Manor location to improve its financial standing.
Of the $600,000 settlement, roughly $275,000 will resolve claims relating to patient stays under the New York False Claims Act; another $275,000 will be fines paid to the state Department of Health; and the remaining $50,000 will reimburse the federal Medicare program for the delayed discharges.
The investigation was conducted by Schneiderman’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the state Department of Health.
“Nursing homes must not put their own financial interests above those their residents  ̶ patients who rely on them for their care and treatment  ̶  and New York taxpayers,” Schneiderman said. “All nursing home residents have a right to accurate and complete information about their options.”
Elant Inc. operate two homes in Goshen as well as homes in Newburgh, Wappingers Falls, Fishkill and a “financially-troubled facility” in Briarcliff Manor, according to Schneiderman. He also said in a release the company plans to sell several of the locations.
Emails from company executives uncovered in the investigation found they were aware of low resident counts and were keeping Medicare and Medicaid patients longer than necessary to improve those figures. Two former Elant CEOs were required to surrender their nursing home administrator licenses as a result of the investigation.
“This settlement sends a clear and unmistakable message to those who seek to profit at the expense of vulnerable New Yorkers and New York’s taxpayers: you will be held fully accountable,” Medicaid Inspector General Dennis Rosen said in a statement.
Elant Choice Inc., a Newburgh-based home access health care organization serving the mid-Hudson Valley, announced earlier this year it separated from Elant, Inc., its former parent company. This fall, it was rebranded as EverCare.
