Nursing homes

"Since 2007, attention has been focused on nursing home ownership by private investment (PI) firms. Nursing home providers are required to disclose parties with an ownership or control interest in order to participate in Medicare or Medicaid. CMS, the HHS agency responsible for managing these two programs, maintains ownership and chain data in its Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System (PECOS). GAO examined (1) the extent of PI nursing home ownership and firms' involvement in homes' operations, (2) whether PECOS reflects PI ownership, and (3) how HHS and states use ownership data for oversight. GAO identified PI ownership using a proprietary database and analyzed data from six PI firms about their interest and involvement in nursing homes. GAO examined PECOS data for selected PI-owned nursing home chains and discussed ownership data with officials from HHS, CMS, and six states that also collect data. "