Currently, he noted, the department has few options when it comes to altering the behavior of troubled facilities. It can fine them or revoke their licenses to operate, slow-moving processes that can drag on for months or even years. Leno’s bill would allow the state to place an immediate ban on admissions until violations have been corrected.

It would also empower the department to use the same tactic at facilities that have failed to pay their fines. During a recent five-year span, the state meted out approximately $2 million in monetary penalties but actually collected just half of that, in part because some facilities simply continued operating without paying.

Michael Weston, a spokesman for the Department of Social Services, did not respond to requests for comment.

However, the department has quietly acknowledged its limitations. In a 16-page budget proposal obtained by ProPublica, the department said it had not kept up with the evolution of the assisted living business, which in recent years has taken in more and more seniors with complex health problems. The document notes that state rules have been broadened to allow people with "virtually any medical condition" to reside in assisted living facilities, yet the division of the department that monitors those operations "has no staff with medical expertise."

According to the budget document, the department has also been slow to respond to the growing role of national and regional chains, and the wave of “complex corporate mergers and acquisitions” that have marked the industry in recent years. Currently, state data systems don’t allow inspectors to identify companies that persistently flout the law. The state is seeking to create a “corporate accountability unit” to monitor chain facilities.    

In many ways, Leno said, the full reach of the proposed regulations will come down to money.

"Are we funding regulatory agencies to do their job?" he asked. "Taxpayers rightfully expect that someone’s looking after them. And the sad fact is that in many cases we haven’t been."

Pages: 1 · 2

More Articles

• Kaiser Health News Research Roundup: Pan-Coronavirus Vaccine; Long Covid; Supplemental Vitamin D; Cell Movement
• A Short Poetry Book Review By Diane Girard: Stars In the Junkyard by Sharon Berg: "The poems in Stars in the Junkyard have depth, intensity glimpses of brightness that encourage rereading"
• How They Did It: Tampa Bay Times Reporters Expose High Airborne Lead Levels at Florida Recycling Factory
• Shhhhhh by Ferida Wolff
• Women Consistently Earn Less Than Men; Women Are Over-represented in Lower Paying Jobs and, As They Age, the Pay Gap Widens Even More
• Rose Madeline Mula Writes: I’ve Got A Secret – NOT!
• A Scout Report Selection: Science-Based Medicine
• Journalist's Resource: Religious Exemptions and Required Vaccines; Examining the Research
• Government of Canada Renews Investment in Largest Canadian Study on Aging
• Kaiser Health News: Paying Billions for Controversial Alzheimer’s Drug? How About Funding This Instead?