Scott Walker: “We have a problem in making sure that all of our senior adult population is treated with the utmost respect and proper…”

“We have a problem in making sure that all of our senior adult population is treated with the utmost respect and proper care. HUD's Section 232 Program was intended to provide Federal loan insurance for loans covering the needs of nursing homes and other elder-care facilities. However, while HUD requires these applicants to submit their latest quality ratings, which is a one-star to five-star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, the quality rating is not a deciding factor. This has allowed nursing homes that provide routinely poor care to receive repeated taxpayer insurance loans. Among others, this is seen in the rise in the number and volume of one-star facilities that received HUD insurance each year from 2009 to 2012 but, also, in reports over two decades from GAO's and HUD's inspectors general. Clearly, HUD's steps haven't gone far enough to provide real reform to ensure that taxpayer dollars do not go to nursing homes that consistently provide poor care to our seniors and to our needy. We must ensure that taxpayer support is going to nursing homes that provide quality care for their residents, not to facilities that provide continually deficient care. By linking CMS' quality ratings to loan eligibility, the Nursing Home Accountability Act ensures that new federally backed loans go to nursing homes with a demonstrated commitment to quality care for their residents.…”