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Accord reached on home patients |
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Senior Services may be forced to lose jobsBy Daniel Connolly
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February 24, 2007
The Tennessee government and a group of elderly and disabled patients have reached an agreement that will end a conflict over home health care.
But the settlement could lead to layoffs at Memphis-based home health care firm Senior Services.
The agreement in Nashville federal court establishes an orderly method to transfer the care of fewer than 500 elderly and disabled people from one government program to another.
All the patients have low incomes that qualify them for Medicaid, a government insurance program. They receive home health care services that prevent them from going to nursing homes.
The transfers of services will begin March 1 and doctors will oversee the cases to make sure that the fragile patients don't fall through the cracks, both sides in the lawsuit said.
"When we started out, this was exactly what we had hoped for," said attorney Robert Donati, who represents the patients.
A representative of TennCare, the state agency that administers Medicaid, also said she was satisfied.
"I think our message here is the state's perspective is that we're just pleased to be able to move forward and to be able to allow (patients) to access these services," said Patti Killingsworth, assistant commissioner and chief of long-term care operations.
But John Carroll, vice president of marketing and development for Senior Services, said the decision would force the firm to lay off 75 people over the next few months.
"This change is going to be very difficult, devastating for the clients, many of whom have received services from us for years," he said.
He also said clients would receive less comprehensive and responsive service.
The conflict began when the federal government said Senior Services was not in compliance with the law.
The firm was offering Medicaid patients case managers to guide them to companies that provide services like meal deliveries.
But the company offered some of the services itself. The federal government said Senior Services had a financial incentive to steer clients to its own services and said clients didn't have a choice of company.
It told Senior Services to choose between offering direct services and case management services.
Last year, Senior Services chose to offer case management services and planned to lay off workers who provide the direct services.
But the transfers and layoffs were put on hold after a group of patients sued TennCare, which had initially fought the federal mandate but later began enforcing it.
The agreement between both sides was approved this week U.S. District Judge William J. Haynes and means the transfers and layoffs will continue.
Copyright, 2007 The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TNReprinted with permission from www.commercialappeal.com |
