JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- For the last three years, legislation intended to crack down on abuse of nursing home residents has breezed through the House only to get bogged down in the Senate.

This year supporters are hopeful that a nursing home bill will enjoy success in the upper chamber where its leader, Senate President Pro Tem Peter Kinder, is leading the reform effort.

Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, said he expects the Senate to take up his bill, which enjoys bipartisan support, when lawmakers return from spring recess next week.

Even though the bill is weaker than previous reform proposals, Kinder said he expects a tough fight as the issue tends to bring out strong emotions.

"It is not for nothing it has failed three years running," Kinder said. "You've got folks outside of the industry who hate nursing homes; that is one extreme. Nursing home operators, for their part, are concerned they are getting squeezed out of business."

Lt. Gov. Joe Maxwell, the state's official advocate for the elderly, said that given the Senate's history on the issue, he hopes it acts swiftly to send the bill to the House.

Time constraints

With only seven weeks remaining in the legislative session, floor time will soon become a precious commodity. The closer the May 16 adjournment deadline looms, the easier it becomes for opponents to derail the measure in the Senate, where debate is unlimited.

Maxwell, a Democrat, said industry lobbyists have quietly worked to stifle the bill's progress.

"The nursing home industry itself is not at all in agreement on this bill," Maxwell said. "I personally don't believe there is anything we can do to get them on board."

Representatives of the Missouri Health Care Association, an industry group, could not be reached Monday.

Kinder's bill would make it a felony for nursing home operators to knowingly cover up acts of abuse or neglect. Avoiding fines for health and safety violations would become more difficult.

While repeat violators would be subject to more frequent state inspections, homes with established records of high quality care would be inspected less often.

Nursing home operators and employees would also have to undergo more extensive background checks, which would include looking into any complaints lodged against them in other states. At present, such information often isn't gathered.

Similar legislation is pending before the House Special Committee on General Laws, which held a hearing last week. State Rep. Mike Sutherland, R-Warrenton, is the sponsor.

That measure sparked some opposition from elderly advocates because of a provision that would reinstate a recently expired requirement that operators seeking to expand existing facilities or build new ones first receive state permission.

Proponents of that section say adding more nursing home beds would drive small operators out of business. Opponents say healthy competition would prove detrimental to poor quality homes.

"I think the idea of competition sounds good, but I worry about areas where there may not be enough people to fill the beds," Sutherland said. "Does the competition there create a winner and a loser, or does it create two losers?"

The bills are SB 556 (Kinder) and HB 628 (Sutherland).

mpowers@semissourian.com

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