Since a new Ohio law allowing cameras in nursing home rooms went into effect last month, some families allege several facilities are charging residents excessively for installation or demanding a certain type of camera be used.
Steve Piskor, who pushed for Esther's Law after his elderly mother was caught being abused from a hidden camera, shared messages of families telling him how facilities charged anywhere from $200 to $800 to have a camera put in a room.
Attempts to reach facilities and affected families were unsuccessful.
"They want to charge something for it, 20 bucks, yeah, go ahead," Piskor said. "They can't charge Medicaid and Medicare families $200. I mean that's just something they can't afford, and they got to pay for the camera, too."
Under Esther's Law, in order for a camera to be in place, one may need to sign a form detailing the technical specifics of a camera,obtain permission from roommates, and be responsible for the cost of the camera and its installation.
But Piskor argues that charging more than what it costs to install is retaliation, which is prohibited under the law. And since residents are the ones paying for the camera, they have the right to pick the camera being used.
"These cameras don't take any tools to install them. I mean, you can install it by yourself with no tools," he said.
Complaints were filed to both the state long-term care ombudsman and the Ohio Department of Health, according to Piskor, who added that the ombudsman had resolved most of them on a case-by-case basis. But he wants the health department to make clear such incidents can't happen again.
Repeated inquiries to the ombudsman's office were not returned. The Department of Health did not provide copies of complaints and said complaint forms were not public records.
Pete Van Runkle, head of the organization representing Ohio's for-profit nursing homes, said he was asked by the ombudsman's office about such incidents. But he said the last time he checked with the Department of Health, there were no complaints.
"We haven't gotten any complaints from any families," said Van Runkle. "I'm not suggesting that there aren't issues out there. I'm just saying, I'm not sure they're quite as widespread."
What his group did see was a lot of questions from nursing homes as the law came into effect, such as whether cameras with two-way communication were allowed or other privacy concerns. In short, Van Runkle agreed with Piskor on his interpretation of the law, with the only gray area being whether cameras that can pan or tilt are allowed.
"What we've said is it should be reasonable and it should be reflective of what it actually costs," said Van Runkle. "Above all... we do recommend to [nursing homes] that they work with their customers."
The majority of nursing homes have complied with Esther's Law, Piskor said, but he's afraid more incidents of overcharging could occur. He's considering proposing changes to the law to prevent that.
Anyone facing issues getting a camera into a nursing home resident's room should try to talk and work with the administrator first. If that doesn't work, one should reach out to the local ombudsman.
Titus Wu is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.
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