Failure to Transfer and Process Resident's Social Security Benefits for PNA
Penalty
Summary
The facility failed to ensure the timely transfer and processing of a resident's social security benefits from a previous facility, resulting in the resident not receiving her monthly personal needs allowance (PNA) after admission. The resident, who was alert and oriented, reported not receiving her $60 monthly allowance since her admission in June and stated that repeated requests to the former Business Office Manager yielded no results. The resident only learned recently that the transfer of her social security benefit had not been filed, which caused her distress. The family also raised concerns about the missing funds, and it was discovered that the previous facility had returned the resident's social security checks to Social Security upon her discharge. Interviews with facility staff revealed that attempts were made to contact the previous facility and Social Security, but these efforts were unsuccessful or not clearly documented. The facility did not have a policy regarding representative payee procedures, and the application to become the resident's representative payee for social security benefits was only submitted several months after admission. As a result, the resident's Medicaid payments were only partial, and the facility had not received the social security benefits to manage the resident's PNA as requested.