Outraged by remarks made yesterday by Republican Senator Dennis Baxley suggesting that the deaths of 14 elderly patients at a South Florida nursing home following Hurricane Irma were somehow self-inflicted, Senate Democratic Leader Oscar Braynon, on behalf of the entire Senate Democratic Caucus, demanded an apology.
“These men and women were entrusted to a nursing home that abandoned that responsibility and left them to die,” said Leader Braynon (D-Miami Gardens). “To say that death was imminent regardless of the actual facts that caused these fatalities not only diminishes the role this nursing home played, but the cascade of events that set the stage for such a calamity to happen. Senator Baxley owes the surviving families an immediate apology.”
At a meeting on Wednesday of the Senate Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator Baxley stunned many lawmakers as well as members of the public when he deflected blame from the nursing home and inadequate policy to the elderly patients themselves.
“Look at the population,” he reportedly said. “You’re dealing with the 90-somethings. Some of these deaths would naturally occur, storm or no storm. Eventually everyone who was in that nursing home will die. But we don’t need to attribute those all to the storm and bad policy.”
The deaths at the Hollywood Hills Rehabilitation Center are currently under criminal investigation. The nursing home, one of many statewide that lost power during Hurricane Irma’s landfall in Florida, did not have a functioning backup generator to maintain air conditioning in the sweltering heat. The catastrophic conditions led to 14 of the patients eventually succumbing following days of exposure to the intense heat. Eight of them died three days after the power loss; six of them died following their evacuation from the nursing home after authorities were summoned.
“If the fault lies with anyone, it begins with the Scott Administration that allowed bad actors in the nursing home industry to flourish with no effective regulatory oversight. It ends with a nursing home that ignored these helpless souls entrusted to their care,” said Leader Braynon. “Senator Baxley should know better, and he should be ashamed for refusing to place the blame where it actually belongs.”
Senate Democrats
LeadingAge Florida statement on meeting with Senate Democrats on PPS
LeadingAge Florida released the following statement today, attributable to President and CEO Steve Bahmer, regarding a meeting with the Senate Minority Leader to discuss the proposed Prospective Payment System (PPS) plan for nursing homes that is currently included in the Senate budget.
“On behalf of LeadingAge Florida and the high-quality nursing homes that are our members, I want to thank Leader Oscar Braynon for arranging this morning’s meeting to discuss the Medicaid payment plan included in the Florida Senate’s budget. An open discussion of the proposal and its many flaws was long overdue, and we appreciate Leader Braynon’s willingness to have that discussion.
“Leader Braynon and other Senate Democrats asked a number of important questions about how the plan shifts dollars from high-quality nursing homes to lower-quality nursing homes, how payments to nursing homes would be calculated, and what kind of accountability should be required if nursing homes receive additional taxpayer dollars under the plan. These and other critical issues are precisely the questions LeadingAge Florida has been raising about the plan since it first appeared just one month ago.
“An important issue raised during the meeting focused on the lack of transparency and absence of public vetting of this plan, which would institute major policy changes – in the budget – to the way nursing homes are paid for caring for Medicaid residents.
“This meeting demonstrated that there are still major holes in the plan that must be addressed. Chief among them is its complete lack of accountability with taxpayer dollars – there is no requirement in the plan that nursing homes that gain additional dollars have to spend even one dime of that new money on resident care. Because of that, the plan simply does not create an incentive to improve nursing quality.
“This is a concern that LeadingAge Florida has been expressing for months and we appreciate Leader Braynon’s draft amendment, which is an important step toward solving this specific problem with the plan. We also applaud the Florida Health Care Association for finally agreeing include an accountability component in their plan. This has been one of the many major flaws in their plan from the beginning. It won’t entirely fix the proposal, but it’s a step in the right direction.
“We look forward to continuing to work with members of the Florida Senate and House, as well as fellow stakeholders, on a PPS plan that meets our collective goals of ensuring accountability of taxpayer dollars and providing the highest standard of care for our state’s seniors.”
Senate Democrats demand fair and consistent treatment of student loan borrowers in public service
Led by U.S. Sens. Bill Nelson (D-FL), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Patty Murray (D-WA), 36 senators today sent a letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos expressing concern over recent reports that some student-loan borrowers may not be able to rely on the notices they received regarding their eligibility for Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
“Our nation’s student loan borrowers who uphold their commitments expect the federal government to do the same,” the senators wrote. “Members of our military, first responders, teachers, social workers, public defenders, and many other honorable public servants across the country are dedicating 10 or more years of their lives to help their communities in return for the basic promise of relief on their student loan debt.”
The senators’ letter follows recent reports by the New York Times and others about the Education Department’s latest court filings, which have left many borrowers who are currently serving their country or community in public-service occupations concerned and confused about their future financial obligations. As of the end of last year, more than 550,000 borrowers have submitted at least one approved form to certify their employment. However, nearly a third of all submitted employment certification forms have been denied.
“It is unacceptable for the Department to have told students they may rely on PSLF to help pay their student loans, only to have that assurance suddenly revoked. Borrowers who have been told in error that their employers qualify for PSLF should at a minimum be grandfathered-in for the period they were previously approved, even if the Department intends to change its determination about qualifying employment going forward,” the senators went on to write.
The lawmakers are requesting that Secretary DeVos streamline the application process and make it more transparent in order to reduce confusion and inconsistency for borrowers. The senators also want the department to improve the notices it sends to applicants, and include in them clear instructions on how to appeal an adverse decision about a borrower’s eligibility.
In addition to Nelson, McCaskill, Gillibrand and Murray, the letter was signed by Sens. Schumer (D-NY), Leahy (D-VT), Feinstein (D-CA), Wyden (D-OR), Durbin (D-IL), Reed (D-RI), Cantwell (D-WA), Menendez (D-NJ), Cardin (D-MD), Sanders (I-VT), Casey (D-PA), Klobuchar (D-MN), Whitehouse (D-RI), Shaheen (D-NH), Bennet (D-CO), Franken (D-MN), Coons (D-DE), Blumenthal (D-CT), Baldwin (D-WI), Donnelly (D-IN), Hirono (D-HI), King (I-ME), Kaine (D-VA), Warren (D-MA), Heitkamp (D-ND), Markey (D-MA), Booker (D-NJ), Van Hollen (D-MD), Hassan (D-NH), Warner (D-VA), Carper (D-DE), and Brown (D-OH).
The full text of the letter is below and a PDF of the letter can be found here.
April 6, 2017
The Honorable Betsy DeVos
Secretary of Education
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202
Dear Secretary DeVos:
We write with great concern over the U.S. Department of Education’s (“Department”) lack of consistent, transparent, and fair treatment of student loan borrowers participating in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (“PSLF”) program.
Our nation’s student loan borrowers who uphold their commitments expect the federal government to do the same. Members of our military, first responders, teachers, social workers, public defenders, and many other honorable public servants across the country are dedicating 10 or more years of their lives to help their communities in return for the basic promise of relief on their student loan debt. Many of these individuals have decided to borrow for their education explicitly because the option to receive relief on their debt allows them to afford the lower pay and benefits that are associated with the public sector, and in our rural, tribal, and other under-resourced communities.
Recently, the Department has suggested that some individuals may not be able to rely on the prior notices and advice they have received from the agency and its designated contractor. It is unacceptable for the Department to have told students they may rely on PSLF to help pay their student loans, only to have that assurance suddenly revoked. Borrowers who have been told in error that their employers qualify for PSLF should at a minimum be grandfathered-in for the period they were previously approved, even if the Department intends to change its determination about qualifying employment going forward.
Additionally, the Department has created a great deal of confusion for applicants who are employed by non-profit organizations that provide certain types of public service, but are not categorized under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. To clarify this confusion, we request that the Department further define and formally clarify the types of eligible employers that qualify for PSLF. These include, but are not limited to, organizations working in the areas of emergency management, military service, public safety, law enforcement, public interest law services, early childhood education, service for individuals with disabilities and the elderly, public health, public education, and school-based services.
This guidance should be publicly accessible in a prominent location and include real-world examples of organizations that qualify in each of these fields. And, when the Department receives requests to approve new employers it has not previously considered, these borrowers should receive a timely response.
PSLF borrowers also deserve the highest standards of customer service when making progress toward their debt relief. There are several steps that should be taken to improve the user experience with PSLF. When the Department or its designated contractor issues denials of employment certification to borrowers, these communications should give borrowers clarity and support. Denials should state the specific reasons that an employer or form has been denied, clearly list the options and process for a borrower to appeal the decision, and specifically inform the borrower that they may work with their employer to provide documentation to support a conclusion that their employment qualifies.
Finally, the Department should act swiftly to fully digitize the PSLF employment certification and application process, including allowing borrowers and employers to digitally sign their forms. The Government Paperwork Elimination Act, signed nearly two decades ago, called for federal agencies to increase their use of electronic forms, electronic filing, and electronic signatures to conduct official business with the public. Although it is positive that borrowers can digitally upload many forms and documents on the web with their servicers, PSLF forms have limited functionality.
Currently, all borrowers must print the employment certification form, manually sign it, and also have it manually signed by their employer. Furthermore, online submission of a scanned form is only an option for borrowers who have existing accounts with the Department’s designated contractor. Borrowers with other student loan servicers should not be required to mail or fax their forms. In an era where fax usage and availability has declined significantly, borrowers should not be asked to fax information to loan servicers when modern technology is readily available to solve these problems.
These steps would provide PSLF applicants with additional certainty and transparency as they work to meet their obligations. Given that borrowers may first become eligible for full forgiveness of their remaining balances through PSLF on September 2, 2017 of this year—less than six months away—we request your response to the policies and reforms to the Department’s implementation of the PSLF program as expeditiously as possible and no later than April 27, 2017. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
