Justice in Aging (formerly the National Senior Citizens Law Center (NSCLC) has published an updated edition of its guide, 20 Common Nursing Home Problems--and How to Resolve Them. For each of the 20 problems, the guide offers a clear explanation of the relevant law, along with careful instructions as to how a resident, family member or advocate should proceed.

Some of the issues covered in the guide are:

• how to fight discrimination against Medicaid patients;
• a nursing home's legal obligation to accommodate preferences of individual residents;
• limitations on the use of physical restraints and feeding tubes;
• why "plateauing" is not a reason for the termination of Medicare Part A reimbursement;
• a strategy for obtaining a Medicaid-certified bed for a resident currently residing in an uncertified bed; and
• a nursing home's legal obligation to readmit a Medicaid-eligible resident after a hospital stay of several weeks or even several months;
• how to limit the use of feeding tubes.

For more details and to download a free copy of the guide, click here. 

For an article in the Washington Post on an earlier version of the guide, click here.