Financial Rights of NY Nursing Home Patients

As a New York nursing home patient, you have the right to:

1. A written copy and explanation of the nursing home’s basic services at the time of admission.

2. Manage your own financial affairs or, in writing, authorize the facility to manage your personal finances in accordance with specific requirements, such as those governing resident interest-bearing accounts.

3. Refuse to deposit your personal funds with the facility.

4. Request your complete financial record and have the facility provide it to you within one business day.

5. Request an assessment which will determine nonexempt resources of you and your spouse at the time of admission, and will give your spouse, if he or she is living in the community, an equitable share of resources which cannot be used to pay for your care as you spend down to Medicaid eligibility levels.

New York nursing homes are required to:

A. Provide you with the following information if you are entitled to Medicaid benefits:

• 1. A list of the items and services included in nursing home services under the New York State plan and for which you may not be charged;
  2. A list of any other items and services that the facility offers and for which you may be charged, and the amount of charges for those items and services (the facility must inform you when changes are made in these lists).

B. Inform you verbally and in writing, before the time of admission, and periodically when changes occur during your stay, of services available in the facility and of the charges for those services, including any charges for services not covered by sources of third-party payment or by the facility’s basic daily rate.

C. Prominently display written information in the facility and provide verbal and written information to residents and potential residents about:

1. 1. How to apply for and use Medicare and Medicaid benefits, and
   2. How to receive refunds for previous payments covered by such benefits.

D. Not require you to deposit your personal funds with the facility.

E. Promptly refund any amount or proportion of repayment in excess of the amount used for services in the event you leave the facility prior to the end of the prepayment period for reasons beyond your control.

F. Deposit your funds in excess of $50 in an interest-bearing account separate from any of the facility’s operating accounts.

G. Upon request, provide an assessment which will determine nonexempt resources of you and your spouse at the time of admission, and will give your spouse, if he or she is living in the community, an equitable share of resources which cannot be used to pay for your care as you spend down to Medicaid eligibility levels.

H. Upon request, inform you or your designated representative about funds held in account through quarterly statements.

I. Make available to you or your designated representative your individual financial record within one business day of a request.

J. Upon your death, convey within 30 days your personal funds deposited with the facility and a final accounting of those funds to the individual or probate jurisdiction administering your estate.

K. If you are a private pay resident, give you a 30-day notice for any change in rate and, if you request, provide you with documentation explaining any additional charges.

Contact NY Elder Law Attorney, Robert Friedman at 716-543-3764 for questions about financing nursing home care and Medicaid planning.