Suzanimal
06-15-2015, 08:22 AM
Cronies gonna crony...
With no debate, new board OKs Gov. Deal’s $27 million nursing home deal
Last summer members of the Department of Community Health board raised questions about a proposed $27 million rate bump for select nursing home owners, and it stalled.
A few months later, the nursing home industry’s lobbyist told legislators that the owners didn’t need the full increase.
But Gov. Nathan Deal and lawmakers budgeted the money anyway, and Thursday, the “rate adjustment” was approved by the DCH board with no debate.
It wasn’t the same board because Deal replaced two of the members who raised questions about the increase last year. Their terms had expired, but they were called and told they were being replaced hours after the nursing home rate hike stalled.
The money will go to owners who bought nursing homes between Jan. 1, 2012 and June 30, 2014 and it was meant, according to supporters, to compensate them for upgrades to the facilities they bought. However, advocates for the elderly said there is no guarantee the facilities were or will be upgraded.
About $10 million of the $27 million a year will go to two companies – PruittHealth and Cypress Skilled Nursing. The Pruitt family are among Deal’s biggest campaign donors and have long been one of the powers behind the politically connected industry.
The special rate hike was stalled in September by DCH after the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and board members raised questions about it. Deal replaced two board members, but the issue didn’t come back up before the panel last year.
However, campaign contributions flowed in after rate increase stalled, including more than $60,000 in one day to Deal’s re-election campaign about two weeks after the proposal was pulled.
Deal included the $27 million in his budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year, which starts July 1. The industry’s chief lobbyist told a legislative panel that not all the money was needed because some of the new owners had cut costs. He said the allocation could nearly be sliced in half.
But the General Assembly approved spending the full amount, and Deal signed the budget last month. The only comments made by the DCH board Thursday came from the panel’s chairman, who made it clear the General Assembly had included the money in the budget.
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http://investigations.blog.ajc.com/2015/06/11/with-no-debate-new-board-oks-gov-deals-26-8-million-nursing-home-deal/?ecmp=ajc_social_facebook_2014_politics_sfp
With no debate, new board OKs Gov. Deal’s $27 million nursing home deal
Last summer members of the Department of Community Health board raised questions about a proposed $27 million rate bump for select nursing home owners, and it stalled.
A few months later, the nursing home industry’s lobbyist told legislators that the owners didn’t need the full increase.
But Gov. Nathan Deal and lawmakers budgeted the money anyway, and Thursday, the “rate adjustment” was approved by the DCH board with no debate.
It wasn’t the same board because Deal replaced two of the members who raised questions about the increase last year. Their terms had expired, but they were called and told they were being replaced hours after the nursing home rate hike stalled.
The money will go to owners who bought nursing homes between Jan. 1, 2012 and June 30, 2014 and it was meant, according to supporters, to compensate them for upgrades to the facilities they bought. However, advocates for the elderly said there is no guarantee the facilities were or will be upgraded.
About $10 million of the $27 million a year will go to two companies – PruittHealth and Cypress Skilled Nursing. The Pruitt family are among Deal’s biggest campaign donors and have long been one of the powers behind the politically connected industry.
The special rate hike was stalled in September by DCH after the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and board members raised questions about it. Deal replaced two board members, but the issue didn’t come back up before the panel last year.
However, campaign contributions flowed in after rate increase stalled, including more than $60,000 in one day to Deal’s re-election campaign about two weeks after the proposal was pulled.
Deal included the $27 million in his budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year, which starts July 1. The industry’s chief lobbyist told a legislative panel that not all the money was needed because some of the new owners had cut costs. He said the allocation could nearly be sliced in half.
But the General Assembly approved spending the full amount, and Deal signed the budget last month. The only comments made by the DCH board Thursday came from the panel’s chairman, who made it clear the General Assembly had included the money in the budget.
...
http://investigations.blog.ajc.com/2015/06/11/with-no-debate-new-board-oks-gov-deals-26-8-million-nursing-home-deal/?ecmp=ajc_social_facebook_2014_politics_sfp