U.S. nursing homes’ new tactic to collect debts: Seizing power of attorney from patients’ relatives
‘But one day last summer, after he disputed nursing home bills that had suddenly doubled Lillian Palermo’s copays, and complained about inexperienced employees who dropped his wife on the floor, Dino Palermo was shocked to find a six-page legal document waiting on her bed.
It was a guardianship petition filed by the nursing home, Mary Manning Walsh, asking the court to give a stranger full legal power over Lillian Palermo, now 90, and complete control of her money.
Few people are aware that a nursing home can take such a step. Guardianship cases are difficult to gain access to and poorly tracked by New York state courts; cases are often closed from public view for confidentiality.’
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