Texas Attorney General’s Office Releases Medicaid Rights for Elderly Nursing Home Patients

Waxahachie, TX (Law Firm Newswire) March 21, 2013 – There is now an unofficial Bill of Rights for elderly residents of Texas.

The Texas Attorney General’s Office has released information outlining the special rights that are in place for citizens age 60 and over. According to the Office, an elderly individual has all of the rights guaranteed to all citizens of Texas.

In addition, the elderly have the right to be treated with dignity and respect, the right to make choices regarding care, benefits and services, and the right to be “free from abuse, neglect, and exploitation.” If the elderly individual is found to need protective measures, they may designate a representative or guardian to ensure those protective measures.

“Some elderly nursing home residents and their loved ones are not aware of how much input they may have over care and everyday issues such as dressing and meals,” stated John Hale, Dallas elder law attorney.

It has been found that some, but not all, nursing homes may provide better care for Medicare or privately-funded residents than the care that is given to Medicaid recipients; Medicaid patients are generally less profitable. While it is not illegal to provide less expensive care to a Medicaid patient, that patient must receive the state-and-federally mandated level of care for all nursing home residents.

A nursing home facility which is receiving Medicaid funding may not be abusing or neglecting patients, but if there is concern that abuse or neglect may be happening, or that there may be Medicaid fraud, individuals are asked to contact the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit at MFCU@texasattorneygeneral.gov or (512) 463-2011.

Additionally, any elderly individual residing in a nursing home should be: dressed, clean and well-groomed; allowed to express personal preferences regarding the food that is served; and the times they are required to wake up and go to sleep. Treatments of any personal nature are to be given in a private setting and all residents are to be treated with respect and dignity.

Nursing home abuse can and does happen, and may include deprivation, intimidation, humiliation, harassment, threats of punishment, any type of hitting or other corporal punishment, sexual harassment or sexual contact, verbal abuse, in language that is either spoken or gestured which is disparaging or derogatory. Patients may not be subjected to chemical or physical restraints, unless authorized by a physician in writing and prescribed for their own safety in an emergency to prevent injury.

If there are any issues or questions about an individual’s rights while in a nursing home facility, consider contacting a Dallas elder law attorney.

John Hale is a Dallas elder law attorney and Dallas estate planning lawyer with The Hale Law Firm. To learn more visit http://www.thehalelawfirm.com.

The Hale Law Firm
100 Executive Court, Suite 3
Waxahachie, TX 75165
Call: 888.425.3911

• Calls From Concerned Citizens A Help In Combating Drunk Driving
  Calls from passing motorists can help Texas police locate drunk drivers and get them off the road. Many of the calls emergency dispatchers receive must be transferred to other jurisdictions and the 911 callers may not be present to see the driver they suspected of driving while inebriated, but both Texas dispatchers and police have stated that passing motorists are a great help. The director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Jeff Miracle, says that he speaks to someone approximately once a month who feels they called 911 to report a potentially drunk driver, only to have to eventually give up [...]
• Texas Highways Safer Than They Were, Still Potentially Dangerous For Drivers
  Though traffic fatality numbers have dropped over the past few years, Texas highways remain dangerous. Among the latest of traffic fatalities, the survivors of a man from East Texas who died have just filed a lawsuit alleging wrongful death. The suit alleges that a truck driver acted with negligence when he backed up his truck and an attached flat-bed trailer against oncoming traffic, which caused a fatal traffic accident. The accident happened in November 2012. According to the lawsuit, the driver of a Peterbilt truck which was hauling a flatbed trailer missed a turnoff in Franklin County. The driver continued [...]
• Drowsy Driving Is An Underreported Danger
  A study recently released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has shed new light on the number of “drowsy driving” incidents. “Drowsy driving,” or falling asleep behind the wheel is an underreported and dangerous issue on the roadways. Because there is no definitive test to determine sleepiness behind the wheel, state reporting relies on driver self-reporting and police estimates. The NHTSA looked at motor vehicle accidents which resulted in fatalities across the U.S. during 2011. There were 29,757 fatal accidents reported; approximately 707 were assumed to be caused at least in part by drowsy driving. The NHTSA estimates [...]

See other news sources publishing this article. BETA | Tags: elder law, Ellis County personal injury attorney, Ellis County personal injury lawyer, Waxahachie accident attorney, Waxahachie accident lawyer, Waxahachie personal injury attorney, Waxahachie personal injury lawyer