Nursing home reform hits Senate snag

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- After 29 versions, Senate President Pro Tem Peter Kinder thought he had a nursing home reform bill all sides could live with when he brought it up for debate Thursday.

However, the effort hit a snag when another Republican senator offered a substitute proposal that reform proponents said upset the delicate compromise reached in Kinder's bill.

Attempts to address abuse of nursing homes residents have cleared the House in recent years only to die in the Senate, where industry lobbyists have been successful in stopping increased regulation and tougher penalties.

This year, however, the bipartisan bill championed by Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, appeared to have sufficient support for passage. Legislative leaders in the House have agreed to take up Kinder's bill should it reach them. Gov. Bob Holden said he would sign it into law.

Key provisions include:

Raising the cap on fines from $10,000 to $25,000. Fines for violations have not been adjusted since 1979.

Closing the loopholes that allow nursing home operators to avoid paying fines for serious violations by fixing the problems or transferring ownership of their facility.

Requiring more extensive background checks for operators and employees.

Mandating that resident deaths be reported to the county coroner before the deceased is transferred to a funeral home.

Allowing less frequent state inspections of homes that have established excellent track records.

State Sen. Jon Dolan, R-St. Charles, surprised Kinder and other backers of the bill by introducing a substitute version. While Dolan called his proposal an improvement, others said it would gut some key protections by making it easier to escape fines and making surprise inspections impossible by requiring advance notice.

Dolan denied that he was trying to derail the bill at the behest of the nursing home industry.

"I straight, I'm honest, I'm clear," Dolan said. "That's why I'm carrying this, because I'm nobody's boy."

Kinder set the bill aside so he and Lt. Gov. Joe Maxwell, a key Democratic booster, could study Dolan's changes. The Senate is expected to resume work on the proposal on Monday.

Kinder said he would continue to push for his version of the bill, despite Dolan's unexpected maneuver.

"He and the industry do have valid points to make," Kinder said. "We'll just see where the body comes down."

The bill is SB 556.

mpowers@semissourian.com

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