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* Dean Olsen at the State Journal-Register…
Forty percent more Black and Hispanic residents of Illinois nursing homes died from COVID-19 than would be expected, in part because they were more likely than whites to be living in three- and four-person rooms.
That statistic on preventable deaths related to overcrowding, as well as other numbers described as “tragic” and “a call to action” by advocates for nursing home residents, were presented to two Illinois House committees Wednesday by officials from the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services.
The HFS analysis of COVID-19-related deaths between March 2020 and July 2020 — the first wave of the pandemic — provided the first in-depth look at racial and ethnic disparities surrounding the way nursing home residents are housed.
The report said Medicaid patients in nursing homes, and especially Black and Hispanic patients, were “far more likely” to live in a three- or four-person room, live in an understaffed facility and have contracted COVID-19.
posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Apr 29, 21 @ 12:09 pm
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Previous Post: Question of the day
Next Post: 3,394 new confirmed and probable cases; 38 additional deaths; 2,115 hospitalized; 475 in ICU; 3.5 percent average case positivity rate; 4 percent average test positivity rate; 97,434 average daily doses
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This we have known for a long time. It hurts my heart and soul. As if poor wasn’t bad enough, then to be Black or Hispanic. It is not just our sorry state, but our sorry USA. So many injustices in the medical industry, as with others; housing, law enforcement, environmental, employment, etc.
Comment by It's Just Me . . . Thursday, Apr 29, 21 @ 12:24 pm
And yet, many on the right continue to claim there is no systemic racism…
Comment by Pot calling kettle Thursday, Apr 29, 21 @ 12:27 pm
Is the ability to afford a private or two person room systemic racism? I think not.but just in case it is, this is what socialized healthcare looks like around the world. The wealthy will always find the best care and facilities.
Comment by Blue Dog Thursday, Apr 29, 21 @ 12:36 pm
I’m not sure if the analysis is only of Medicaid residents, or if it includes private pay as well? If it includes rubato pay, that would make more sense to me. My next question is how much of the overcrowding just has to do with population density? As in, more minorities live in and around cities/Chicago. Is there less overcrowding in rural areas? That’s pure speculation, if anyone knows let me know. Because if the problem is density, then I think that suggests we need more homes in certain places, not necessarily to pay existing homes more, right?
Comment by Perrid Thursday, Apr 29, 21 @ 12:44 pm
== Is the ability to afford a private or two person room systemic racism? I think not.==
But Black and Latinx residents are more likely to not have the ability to afford a private or two person room than white residents. Racism in the past and present has had a direct impact on income disparities today, so yes, systemic racism has helped cause this.
Comment by Can Thursday, Apr 29, 21 @ 12:46 pm
Can. I respectfully disagree.
Comment by Blue Dog Thursday, Apr 29, 21 @ 12:49 pm
=== I respectfully disagree.===
That’s because you can’t grasp what institutional and systematic racism is.
Or are willfully ignorant to it.
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Apr 29, 21 @ 12:50 pm
=== Can. I respectfully disagree. ===
Blue Dog, I disrespectfully disagree.
Comment by Thomas Paine Thursday, Apr 29, 21 @ 12:59 pm
=this is what socialized healthcare looks like around the world.=
You have absolutely no idea what socialized healthcare looks like around the world. You are offering bias and opinion as fact because you haven’t undertaken the most basic examination of the topic.
Comment by Pundent Thursday, Apr 29, 21 @ 1:01 pm
Anyone who thinks there’s institutional racism in the administering of Medicaid should file a lawsuit under the the 1964 Civil Rights Act. If not, then please be quiet.
Comment by Nurse Nightingale Thursday, Apr 29, 21 @ 1:27 pm
=== Anyone who thinks…===
Reading is fundamental.
Systemic and institutional racism goes to all forms of the American experience… from red lining, education, job opportunities, and health care.
Asking for quiet is also stifling the truth of the racism now being discussed. Sure, it’s uncomfortable…
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Apr 29, 21 @ 1:32 pm
The 1964 Civil Rights is posted in many corporate workplaces. Anyone who feels their rights have been violated should file a federal lawsuit. The lack of equal outcomes doesn’t prove racism.
Comment by Legal Eagle Thursday, Apr 29, 21 @ 1:36 pm
=== The lack of equal outcomes===
And you think racism and the opportunities to have equal access doesn’t prohibit the possibility of equal outcomes?
Where is this Utopia you speak? Are there rainbows and unicorns there too?
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Apr 29, 21 @ 1:38 pm
Racism is serious business. The 1964 Civil Rights law is here to protect anyone who has experienced racism in a governmental program. Don’t be shy, file a lawsuit.
Comment by Loop Lawyer Thursday, Apr 29, 21 @ 1:42 pm
Seems like the “same” argument by the “different” folks.
Huh.
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Apr 29, 21 @ 1:44 pm
=== Racism is serious business===
If you don’t think it exists or can be found in health care through institutional and systematic monetary ways please, the lot of you, tell me where this Utopia is, and are you riding unicorns when you all are ignoring societal realities.
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Apr 29, 21 @ 1:55 pm
===I think not.but just in case it is, this is what socialized healthcare looks like around the world.===
Since you acknowledge the possibility that you’re wrong about the impact of centuries of institutionalized racism in our country having nothing to do with disproportionate rates of poverty and the inability to afford single occupancy or double occupancy rooms in nursing homes, lets focus on how wrong your “just in case” is.
Canada has single payer. UK has single provider. What’s the basic minimum accommodation for a person requiring skilled nursing care in those countries?
In terms of outcomes we’re doing terribly compared most other countries, including ones with significantly smaller per capita GDP, that have single payer or single provider systems.
Lets see some examples, Blue Dog. But try to pick countries that are doing much better than we are on healthcare with significantly less of their GDP being spent on healthcare.
You may not every be able to understand how pervasive racism is, but maybe we can at least get you to understand how terrible our healthcare system is at providing healthcare.
Comment by Candy Dogood Thursday, Apr 29, 21 @ 3:12 pm
Re: systemic racism.
I invite you to read Caste by Isabel Wilkerson and The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander.
If those books don’t change your perspective, nothing will.
Comment by Proud Papa Bear Thursday, Apr 29, 21 @ 3:36 pm
As someone who spend many years working with nursing homes and admissions it is sad. They are all generally understaffed and needs are high. The cost is high too. Finally they are not a place many folks want to work in. One bright spot I see the the Supported Living Facilities. I think there is a way to start these sooner for elderly so that they don’t run into problems being alone then go direct to nursing care
Comment by clec dcn Thursday, Apr 29, 21 @ 4:08 pm
“this is what socialized healthcare looks like around the world. The wealthy will always find the best care and facilities.”
So the dire threat posed by socialized medicine is exactly what we face now?
I’m not saying you ever contributed much of substance, but you used to troll better than this.
– MrJM
Comment by @misterjayem Thursday, Apr 29, 21 @ 4:13 pm
Medicare A is king. If you qualify for Medicare A, you are going to score at least a semiprivate room and possibly a private room, because the competition for these short-term rehab patients is fierce. I know a nursing home that has just completed a renovation that included a half-dozen new rooms — they are all private rooms and reserved for Medicare A patients.
Medicaid reimbursements just can’t compete. So there you have 3-4 to a room, and not only is this a nightmare in terms of dealing with COVID (and flu before that) but also because of the aggression that comes with overcrowding or just plain hating your roommate(s), and the responsibility of the facility to avoid mixing sexual predators and drug dealers with vulnerable people.
100% private bedrooms, no matter the insurance, solves a lot of problems instantly. But it’s got to be done in a smart way. While having a certain percentage of Medicare beds can help keep a facility afloat, it is also true that some fancy private-pay facilities have terrible staffing issues because they refuse to pay well.
Comment by yinn Thursday, Apr 29, 21 @ 4:26 pm
——
it is also true that some fancy private-pay facilities have terrible staffing issues because they refuse to pay well.
——
Not to mention: Having dealt with 2 of these nursing facilities over the last couple of years if you really think about how their businesses are structured, they’re disturbingly efficient providing minimal viable service while shifting money from pocket to pocket. The first time I thought it was just one bad shop, the second I realized how borked they are. It’s quite literally people warehousing.
Comment by dan l Thursday, Apr 29, 21 @ 4:56 pm
MrJ. Do you dispute my statement?
Comment by Blue Dog Thursday, Apr 29, 21 @ 5:09 pm
=The wealthy will always find the best care and facilities.=
The U.S. ranks 37th in global health care quality. Right between Costa Rica and Slovenia. For a country of our size and wealth that’s not good. And the vast majority of countries ahead of us are either single payer or single provider. But don’t let facts get in the way of your socialized healthcare rant.
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/best-healthcare-in-the-world
Comment by Pundent Thursday, Apr 29, 21 @ 5:34 pm
==That’s because you can’t grasp what institutional and systematic racism is.==
Low blow OW. He has a different opinion.
Comment by Southwest Sider Thursday, Apr 29, 21 @ 8:07 pm
===He has a different opinion.===
He’s a troll.
He’s looking for attention. He’ll be fine.
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Apr 29, 21 @ 8:43 pm
Blue dog. I dispute your statements. Because you’re flat out wrong.
HFS looked at the data. And then they controlled for those homes that are primarily Medicaid. And even in the primarily Medicaid facilities they saw significant racial disparities in staffing and multi-person rooms.
So, no, it isn’t just about who can afford it. The nursing homes treat white Medicaid residents differently than they treat black and brown Medicaid residents.
But go ahead and keep pretending it isn’t about systematic racism.
Comment by SaulGoodman Thursday, Apr 29, 21 @ 11:37 pm