The Trump administration has changed the way it penalizes nursing homes that violate health and safety rules—which has resulted in lower fines.
According to a March 15, 2019 NPR article, the average nursing home fine dropped from $41,260 in 2016 (President Obama’s final year in office) to $28,405.
Instead of fining nursing homes for each day they are out of compliance, as was previously done, the Trump administration—encouraged by the nursing home industry—is using a single fine for two-thirds of infractions, according to the article. The end result is a lower penalty, which means that nursing homes have less incentive to improve their practices, according to experts.
“It’s not changing behavior [at nursing homes] in the way that we want,” said Ashish Jha, K.T. Li Professor of Global Health and director of the Harvard Global Health Institute. “For a small nursing home, it [a penalty] could be real money, but for bigger ones, it’s more likely a rounding error.”
Read the NPR article: Trump Administration Cuts The Size Of Fines For Health Violations In Nursing Homes