SEIU Applauds Leaders of Key Committees Seeking Increased Oversight of Nursing Home Takeovers; Political Concerns Increasing at State Level

WASHINGTON, DC- The nation's largest healthcare workers union applauded U.S. Reps. John Dingell and Barney Frank today as they announced the first Congressional hearings on private equity ownership of nursing homes. The announcement today by the Chairmen of the House Energy & Commerce Committee and the House Financial Services Committee is the latest move by Congressional leaders this month to hold private equity firms accountable for the care, staffing, and conditions at nursing homes they own. The two committees hold key oversight powers over the private equity industry, the healthcare industry, and Medicaid.

On October 2, 2007, SEIU Healthcare sent letters to four Congressional committees urging them to hold hearings, exercise oversight, and consider new legislative reforms related to private equity ownership of nursing homes.

"Big buyout firms like the Carlyle Group and others should be held accountable for the impact of their actions on seniors, taxpayers, and workers," said Gerry Hudson, Executive Vice President, SEIU Healthcare. "The buyout industry has quietly grown in power and influence without having to answer questions about its impact on people's lives. The Carlyle Group's mega-buyout of Manor Care gives new urgency to concerns over declining quality of care and understaffing at nursing homes."

The growing concerns over private equity takeovers of nursing homes are opening a new front in Washington for the embattled buyout industry, which has faced criticism for failing to pay its fair share of taxes and its' executives extreme wealth during a period of historic income inequality in America. Concerns also are growing on the state level, where the Carlyle Group is seeking approval from regulators in order to close a $6.3 billion takeover of HCR Manor care in what will be the largest-ever private equity takeover of a nursing home chain.

SEIU Healthcare is working with coalitions in eight states raising concerns that Carlyle Group's takeover of Manor Care could come at the expense of nursing home residents, taxpayers, and workers. The states are Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Michigan, Florida, Maryland, Wisconsin, and Washington state. The grassroots effort is the largest ever public campaign focused on the impact of a private equity buyout on people's lives. For more info, visit www.CarlyleFixManorCareNow.org 

Background for Reporters

Action on Capitol Hill this month:
 On October 18, the bipartisan leadership of the Senate Finance Committee sent letters to the Carlyle Group and other four other private equity firms asking for information related to their ownership and management of nursing homes. Sens. Baucus (D-Mont.) and Grassley (R-Iowa) also sent a letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) asking the federal agency responsible for overseeing nursing home inspections to account for a report of higher health and safety violations in nursing homes that have been bought by private equity investors.
 Earlier this month Sens. Charles Grassley and Hillary Clinton separately requested investigations of the issue by the Government Accountability Office.
 On October 2, SEIU Healthcare called on Congress to hold hearings and consider new legislative reforms related to private equity ownership of nursing homes.

About SEIU Healthcare
 With more than one million healthcare members, SEIU Healthcare is the nation's largest union of healthcare workers. With 1.9 million total members, SEIU (Service Employees International Union) is the nation's fastest growing union.

New York Times Investigation
 A recent front page expos by the New York Times detailed how cuts to staffing and operations at nursing homes bought by private equity firms across the country have enriched top executives and buyout firms but left nursing home residents worse off. Read the article here.

 In recent years, large private investment groups have agreed to buy six of the nation's 10 largest nursing home chains, containing over 141,000 beds, or 9 percent of the nation's total. Private investment groups own at least another 60,000 beds at smaller chains and are expected to acquire many more companies as firms come under shareholder pressure to sell, according to the New York Times article by Charles Duhigg, "At Many Homes, More Profits and Less Nursing,"published September 23, 2007.

More background at www.CarlyleFixManorCareNow.org  

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