Failure to Pay Interest on Resident Trust Account Funds
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure that interest was paid on a resident's trust account, affecting one resident for whom the facility maintained a trust account. The Business Office Manager (BOM) withdrew $1,025.00 from the resident's account to keep the balance below the Medicaid resource limit, but the funds were kept in the facility's safe for over three months without accruing interest. The BOM was unable to provide documentation of attempts to contact the resident's Power of Attorney (POA) after the withdrawal, and the funds were not included in the resident's quarterly statement during this period. Interviews revealed that only the BOM, Social Services Director, and Administrator had access to the safe where the money was stored. Both the BOM and Administrator confirmed that the withdrawn funds did not earn interest while in the safe, and the facility's policy required that interest be paid on resident funds. The resident's funds were not returned to an interest-bearing account in a timely manner, and the facility did not provide accurate accounting of the resident's balance during the time the funds were held in the safe.