Nursing Homes

All nursing homes in Maryland must be licensed by the state health department.  Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities are completely different.  Nursing homes provide medical care as a primary service.  Assisted Living is primarily a residential service with some additional personal and low level medical services.

• Concerns About National Nursing Home Ratings The U.S. General Accounting Office has concerns about the criteria used by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to rate nursing homes across the U.S. The information is intended to help people choose a nursing home. But the GAO said the information may confuse people, CMS is not prepared to answer questions, and CMS may not have used the best tests of nursing home quality. The GAO suggested that CMS should wait for more complete reports and results of a test program before putting the information on its website.
• "Nursing Homes: What You Need To Know" is a book that extensively covers selecting a nursing home, paying for a nursing home, and other important topics. Several Maryland government agencies and legal organizations have written  "Nursing Homes: What You Need to Know" - information on choosing a nursing home, how to pay for care, and alternatives to a nursing home. This material is also available in booklet form (56 pages) from the Maryland Attorney General's Office. Call (410) 576-6500.
• How has the nursing home performed in inspections? -- you can look up any Maryland nursing home to review it's history for deficiency citations in this web site at the Health Care Financing Administration.
• Nursing Home Admission Contracts - A Nursing Home must have a written contract with everyone who is admitted.  See this Maryland State Bar Association brochure on what to look for in the contract.
• Legal Assistance for Nursing Home residents - the Legal Aid Bureau has a unit that provides legal assistance to nursing home residents anywhere in Maryland.
• Question & Answers on Medical Assistance for Nursing Home Care -- Essential information for anyone who will need Medical Assistance (Medicaid) to help pay for nursing home care. 
• How do you make a formal complaint about a nursing home? -  Complaints can be filed in writing or by telephone.  You may file your complaint anonymously.  Click on this link for the mailing address for filing a complaint with the Office of Health Care Quality; scroll down for the phone number for complaints about nursing homes.

Last review: 4/11/08 (PLL/M.A.J.)

This site offers legal information, not legal advice.  We make every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information and to clearly explain your options.  However we do not provide legal advice - the application of the law to your individual circumstances.  For legal advice, you should consult an attorney.  See our section on "Finding A  Lawyer In Maryland." The Maryland State Law Library, a court-related agency of the Maryland Judiciary, sponsors this site. The website was developed (1999-2007) as part of an access to justice initiative by the Maryland Legal Assistance Network (MLAN) in collaboration with a number of legal services providers serving low and moderate income Marylanders. 

This Page is copyrighted Legal Aid Bureau, Inc., 2001-2005.  All rights reserved, subject to the following exception: You are free to copy the information for your own use or for other non-commercial purposes with the following language “Source: People’s Law Library of Maryland – www.peoples-law.org, © Legal Aid Bureau, Inc, 2001- 2005."