Nursing Home Residents’ Rights Could Hang on SCOTUS Arguments

The US Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Tuesday in a case that could make it more difficult for millions of Americans to enforce their civil rights in court against public entities that receive federal government funding.

At issue in this specific case is whether Ivanka Talevski can sue the Health and Hospital Corp. of Marion County, Ind., for violating her late husband’s civil rights. The nursing home allegedly medicated, restrained, and transferred him—a dementia patient—without her knowledge or consent. The Federal Nursing Home Reform Amendments to the Medicaid Act expressly prohibit such conduct.

HHC, a publicly-run nursing facility, ...