If you’re looking to put a loved one in a nursing home, you might want to do your research. The New York Times exposed yesterday that the Medicare Ratings System – a hotel-style ratings system that has become the gold standard across the industry – is based on self-reported data by the nursing homes that the government does not verify.

In fact, the only criteria used to determine ratings that is based on independent reviewers is the annual results of health inspections. Almost everything else, including staff levels and quality statistics, is reported by the nursing homes themselves and generally accepted by Medicare at face value. What’s even more concerning is that the ratings don’t take into account negative information such as fines, other state enforcement actions or customer complaints that are filed with state agencies.

This has caused a lot of problems for those who rely on the Medicare ratings system as an independent measure of what to expect from a nursing home, including doctors, nurses and insurers, because many homes are given a seal of approval based on information that is incomplete and potentially misleading.

Rosewood Post-Acute Rehab in Sacramento is one of the five-star rated nursing homes whose superior rating has led to dozens of lawsuits in recent years from patients and their families claiming substandard care. According to The New York Times, some groups, such as employees, lawyers and patient advocacy groups even say that some nursing homes have even learned how to ‘game’ the rating system.

If you or a loved one think you are a victim of nursing home abuse and/or neglect, contact the attorneys at Morelli Law Firm for a free case evaluation. With over 100 years of collective legal experience and more than $2 billion in verdicts and settlements on behalf of our clients, we hold nursing home and elder care facilities accountable for their negligent and wrongful behavior to secure justice for the abused.

To read the full The New York Times article, click here.