Know your rights: Caregivers and nursing home debt

Helping someone you love to move into a nursing home can be stressful enough. Nursing homes should not try to make you personally responsible for a loved one’s bill as a condition of admission.

• Take a close look at the nursing home contract
• Defend your rights, talk with a lawyer
• Help is available

Take a close look at the nursing home contract

Here’s what you should know about your rights, what to look for in the nursing home admissions contract, and where to get help.

• Know your rights. Some nursing home admissions contracts say that a caregiver, family member, or friend must pay the resident’s bill if the resident can’t afford to. This is generally illegal. Under the federal Nursing Home Reform Act, nursing homes can’t ask or require you to use your own money to pay for someone else’s nursing home bill, as a condition of that person’s admission to or continued stay in the nursing home.
• The nursing home can’t make you promise to pay for the resident’s care with your own money. For instance, you may have access to the resident’s money as their power of attorney or legal guardian. But the nursing home can’t make you promise to pay for the resident’s care with your own money.
• Watch out for words such as “responsible party” and “joint and several liability.” Sometimes, contracts have confusing terms that say, on one hand, that you are not personally responsible for paying the resident’s costs of care. Then later, the contract could say that if you don’t make sure the resident’s Medicaid application is complete, accurate, and on time, you are responsible for paying the nursing home’s damages. Or it could say that you and the resident are both “jointly and severally” responsible for the nursing home bills.
• You can refuse to sign a nursing home admissions contract that tries to hold you personally responsible for the resident’s bills. If the nursing home insists that you sign the contract, you can ask a lawyer to read the admissions contract for violations of the Nursing Home Reform Act. You can also report NHRA violations to your State Nursing Home Survey agency.

Defend your rights, talk with a lawyer

When nursing home bills go unpaid, some nursing homes hire debt collectors, including law firms, to demand that caregivers pay for a resident’s unpaid nursing home bills. They may also report the debt to consumer credit reporting companies as your debt, and file lawsuits in court. Debt collectors may even tell the judge that you intentionally misused, hid, or stole the resident’s funds, without any reason for believing that you did. These actions could violate the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

If you are sued for a loved one’s nursing home debt, contact an attorney immediately.

Help is available

When you’re dealing with a nursing home problem, you don’t have to go it alone. There are experts who can help. Some do this for free or at a low cost.

Find your local long-term care ombudsman

Long-term care ombudsmen help residents and their caregivers resolve nursing home issues. Use this tool to find your local ombudsman

Get legal help

Lawyers can help you understand your rights, negotiate with a nursing home, and respond to debt collection demands. You may qualify for free legal aid, based on your income.

Report nursing homes

Help federal and state authorities stop illegal nursing home debt collection. You can report Nursing Home Reform Act violations to your State Nursing Home Survey Agency

or file a complaint with your State Attorney General

Submit a complaint

If you are having trouble with a debt collector or a credit reporting company, you can also submit a complaint with the CFPB.

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Legal disclaimer

The content on this page provides general consumer information. It is not legal advice or regulatory guidance. The CFPB updates this information periodically. This information may include links or references to third-party resources or content. We do not endorse the third-party or guarantee the accuracy of this third-party information. There may be other resources that also serve your needs.