Summary: In a March report, GAO cited nursing home problems in 14 states, including Maryland. These deficiencies ranged from procedures that may limit the filing of complaints to failures to investigate serious complaints promptly. Compared with other states, Maryland devoted fewer resources to investigating complaints, recorded substantially fewer complaints than Michigan or Washington, generally classified similar complaints as needing less prompt investigation, did not meet the assigned time periods for investigating many complaints, and had a large backlog of uninvestigated cases and poor tracking of the status of investigations. Consequently, serious complaints alleging that nursing home residents are being harmed can remain uninvestigated for weeks or months in Maryland. Such delays can prolong situations in which residents may be subject to abuse or neglect resulting in serious care problems like malnutrition and dehydration, preventable accidents, and medication errors. In response to GAO's findings, the Health Care Financing Administration has told states to investigate any complaint alleging actual harm to a resident within 10 workdays. The Maryland General Assembly recently approved funding to significantly increase the number of nursing home surveyors. However, the seriousness and systemic nature of the weaknesses GAO identified require sustained commitment and strengthened oversight to help ensure adequate care to nursing home residents.
