California Moves To End ‘Zombie Licenses’ For Nursing Homes

In California, if you own a nursing home, you are allowed to buy another home or chain of facilities without a license.

According to the Times of San Diego, the California Department of Public Health says it has no authority to disqualify owners and operators who are already in operations in the state. This is allowed to happen under what is called a Management Operations Transfer Agreement.

An attorney for California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, Tony Chicotel, calls this "zombie licenses" and says it's "the essence of license-evasion."

In short, there are few rules when it comes to the purchase or sale of nursing homes and a new bill is looking to end this.

“DPH may be convinced that bad operators are the best we can do but it’s not true,” said Chicotel. “There are good operators and there is plenty of money to be made while providing good care. The good operators are unfortunately squeezed out by the operators willing to cut staffing, defy the rules, and put profits over people.”

Assembly Bill 1520 by Al Muratsuchi of Torrance and Jim Wood of Santa Rosa would give the agency power to disqualify unfit operators and owners and require them to meet certain qualifications. They would also be able to bar people from buying or operating a home without state approval.

The bill would also stop buyers from creating businesses to get around the licensing requirements.