Welcome to The Home Equity Theft Reporter, a blog dedicated to informing the consumer public and the legal profession about Home Equity Theft issues. This blog will consist of information describing the various forms of Home Equity Theft and links to news reports & other informational sources from throughout the country about the victims of Home Equity Theft and what government authorities and others are doing about it.
Saturday, July 02, 2016
Aging Building In Need Of Unaffordable Upgrades, Shrinking Medicare & Medicaid Reimbursements Lead To Another Nursing Home Shutdown, Forcing Dispersal Of 30 Elderly, Poor Residents To Other Facilities Throughout State
In Winthrop, Maine, the Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel reports:
A nursing home in downtown Winthrop closed [last week], and the 30 residents who were staying there have been transferred to different long-term care facilities around the state, said Edward Hunt, who owns and administered Winthrop Manor Long Term Care and Rehab Center.
The Western Avenue facility closed for a mix of reasons, Hunt said. The building was in poor shape and required considerable investment, he said, and the federal Medicaid program — known as MaineCare — was not reimbursing the full amount to house and care for residents there.
“I never made any money in four or five years,” Hunt said. “It was difficult. Unfortunately, MaineCare doesn’t pay enough. For every dollar I spent, I got about 90 cents back.”
While Winthrop Manor has housed an average of 40 residents over the last five years, Hunt said he had limited enrollments in the last year of operation, knowing that he eventually would close the nursing home.
The 30 residents who remained this month were transferred to facilities in different parts of the state Monday, Hunt said, including Lewiston, Farmington, Madison and the Brunswick and Bangor areas.
***
Hunt, who has owned the home for almost 12 years and also runs an assisted-living facility in Biddeford, said he is looking to the sell the Winthrop building. A former farm building, it was first converted to a care facility in 1956 and was showing its age in recent years. At least one furnace and two commercial laundry machines were 25 years old and in need of replacement, Hunt said.
***
The challenge to Hunt’s business going forward, he said, was that shrinking reimbursements for Medicaid and Medicare services would not cover the upgrades needed to maintain his 46-bed home.
“I don’t blame anybody,” he said of his reasons for closing. “But for us, it’s too little too late.”
For the story, see Downtown Winthrop nursing home closes (The 30 residents who were staying there have been transferred to different long-term care facilities around the state).
CBC News: Betrayal of Trust (A CBC investigation reveals how lawyers across Canada have misappropriated and mishandled clients money, to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, or sometimes even charging vulnerable people top dollar for shoddy services)
Land Contract/Contract For Deed/Rent-To-Own Rackets
The New York Times: The Housing Trap (In the wake of the housing crisis, low-income families have turned to seller financing to buy homes but these deals can be a money trap)
Beware The Fine Print: Consumers Forced To Sign Away Their Rights To Use Court System
The NY Times: Arbitration Everywhere, Stacking the Deck of Justice(Part 1 in series examining how clauses buried in tens of millions of contracts have deprived Americans of one of their most fundamental constitutional rights: their day in court)
Foreclosure Mills' Abysmal Record In Complying With New NYS Foreclosure Requirements
Justice Deceived: How Large Foreclosure Firms Subvert State Regulations Protecting Homeowners
MFY Legal Services Report On Questionable Practices By Process Servers In Debt Collection Cases
Justice Disserved: A Preliminary Analysis of the Exceptionally
Low Appearance Rate by Defendants in Lawsuits Filed in the Civil Court of the City of New York
Mortgage Mess Redux: Robo-Signers Return (A Reuters investigation finds that many banks are still employing the controversial foreclosure practices that sparked a major outcry last year)
CNN Video: As Foreclosures Mount, Florida Court Turns To 'Rocket Docket'
The Wall Street Journal: A Florida Court's 'Rocket Docket' Blasts Through Foreclosure Cases (2 Questions, 15 Seconds, 45 Days to Get Out; 'What's to Talk About?' Says a Judge)
"Produce The Note" Strategy When Dealing With Missing Promissory Notes In Foreclosure Actions
ABC Video: Fighting Against Foreclosure (Some homeowners have found a new tactic to keep the banks at bay)
<< Home