States Drop the Ball on Long-Term Care Background Checks

Nine states failed to meet all the requirements of a national background check program for long-term care employees, despite receiving federal grants intended to support their programs.

The failure was primarily due to a lack of state legislative authority, the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General said in an Aug. 26 report. The report reviewed 11 states that received their last grants between 2017 and 2018.

More than 9 million Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries receive long-term care services, and the failure to meet background check requirements can raise the risk of patient neglect, patient abuse, and theft. ...