Nursing home payoffs generate high number of appeals

NEARLY one in four appeals over repayments for illegal nursing home fees are resulting in higher amounts being paid out to claimants.

Over €185 million has been repaid to nursing home residents and their kin under a scheme to compensate long-term residents illegally charged by the State.

However, health chiefs were last night accused of trying to save money at the expense of vulnerable elderly people as it is now evident that large numbers of payments are being overturned on appeal.

“When a quarter of appeals are overturned, something is seriously wrong with the system. It’s immoral,” argued Fine Gael’s Denis Naughton.

Fine Gael are suspicious that the large portion of underpayments mean many offers made are below what residents and relatives of former patients should be getting.

The repayment appeals office has 2,831 applications so far. Of these, 1,147 have been decided and 272 of these claims or nearly 24% will result in an increased offer, according to the department.

“Some offers being made are unbelievable. This is a way of trying to save money rather than make a fair offer,” said Deputy Naughton.

The repayment scheme was set up in August 2006 after it emerged that tens of thousands of nursing home patients were illegally charged for public nursing home services when their medical card meant they were entitled to free care.

Figures from the Department of Health show that of the 39,000 applications for living and deceased patients received under the repayment scheme, 23,500 or just over 60% have been concluded.

Offers to 13,000 claimants of repayments totalling €235m were made by the end of last month. Of these, 9,400 claimants have accepted and received €185m.

Accounting firm KPMG, who are handling the scheme, have indicated the original deadline of the end of next month, may not now be met.

Any outstanding claims will be kept to “an absolute minimum and will be dealt with as quickly as possible”, according to Minister Mary Harney’s department.

Delays have been caused by significant number of incomplete forms submitted by claimants.

A “very high number of deficiencies” have appeared on claim forms, say the department. Around two thirds of all claim forms were submitted without critical pieces of information meaning KPMG had to write to claimants for details.