|
America's Seniors Deserve a Hearing
"Change to Win" Chairwoman Anna Burger tells us why it's important to monitor the activities of private equity
firms - especially when it involves your tax dollars and your loved ones. Today these firms buy out publicly traded
companies and take them private. Then, with no regulations to restrict them, they cut costs by slashing jobs and buying
cheaper supplies. This gives them a better "bottom line" and makes the companies easier to sell off, usually in pieces, to the
highest bidder. While this makes private equity firms wealthy (they take huge "fees" for themselves and use a tax loophole to shelter it)
their profit comes at the expense of everything else in the business - including their
customers. That cannot be allowed to happen with quality care facilities for our parents and grandparents.
From Anna Burger, Secretary-Treasurer
Service Employees International Union
After logging nearly 800 miles on the road since last Wednesday, a caravan of long-term caregivers and senior advocates
arrived on Capitol Hill yesterday with a message: Private equity firms - the ones that buy public companies, take them
private, and make dramatic changes before re-selling the companies for a profit - have a responsibility equal to their
size; these buyout firms should be held accountable for the impact of their actions on seniors, taxpayers, and workers.
After meeting with the workers, Chairmen John Dingell (D-Mich.) and Barney Frank (D-Mass.) announced the first
congressional hearings on private equity ownership of nursing homes. The announcement comes on the eve of the
biggest
private equity nursing home takeover in history, the $6.3 billion buyout of HCR Manor Care by The Carlyle Group.
It's been a landmark month for families, workers, and advocates concerned about what happens when decisions about nursing
home care delivery are placed in the hands of buyout kings accountable only to their investors. A recent New York Times
investigation depicted these concerns all too vividly.
On October 2, we sent letters to four Congressional committees urging them to hold hearings and exercise their oversight
duties on behalf of America's seniors, one of our nation's most valued - and vulnerable - populations. The response
from Congress has been encouraging.
On October 18, the Senate Finance Committee sent letters to five large private equity firms asking for information about
their ownership and management of nursing homes. Earlier this month, Sens. Baucus (D-Mont.) and Grassley (R-Iowa) asked
the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to account for reports of higher health and safety violations in
nursing homes that have been bought by private equity investors. Sens. Grassley and Clinton (D-N.Y.) each requested
investigations of the issue by the Government Accountability Office.
Rep. Frank summarized succinctly why he and others are acting now: "We see what private equity brings to the table, and
we're skeptical that it's what the nursing home industry needs." Private equity buyouts often come at a high cost to
workers, communities, products and services. And in the case of nursing homes, they exact the ultimate cost from patients
who suffer as a result of deep staffing and resource cuts.
The buyout industry has grown quietly in power and influence in recent years. Thus far, it's done so without having to
answer questions about its impact on people's lives. This cannot go on, especially not when it comes to the nursing homes
that care for our senior citizens - and which received more than $75 billion last year from taxpayer programs like Medicare
and Medicaid.
This investigation is only the beginning. SEIU Healthcare is working with coalitions in eight states to inform
communities about the potential impact of the Carlyle Group's takeover of Manor Care. We look forward to working with
members of Congress to figure out how best to assure that our seniors receive the quality care they need and deserve. In
the meantime, workers and advocates will continue to tell our stories on behalf of those we love and serve.
For more info on the Carlyle buyout of Manor Care, visit CarlyleFixManorCareNow.org.
|
|
|
|
Anna Burger, Chair, Change to Win
International Secretary-Treasurer SEIU
TELL CONGRESS TO BLOCK THE SALE
until private equity firms can be
held accountable for their greed
Just click here
and enter your zip code.
Thanks to Congress Merge for the list
|
|
|
|
