More than one in four cases of sexual and physical abuse against nursing home patients went unreported to police, a new government report claims.
The audit faults Medicare for failing to enforce a federal law that requires nursing homes to report abuse immediately.
The Health and Human Services inspector general’s office issued an ‘early alert’ Monday on its findings from a large sampling of cases in 33 states. Investigators urge Medicare to take corrective action right away.
‘We hope that we can stop this from happening to anybody else,’ said Curtis Roy, an audit manager with the inspector general’s office, which investigates fraud, waste and abuse in the health care system.
The audit is part of a larger ongoing probe, and additional findings are expected, he explained.
