Nursing Homes
Nursing Home Liability Insurance: An Overview
Research Report
Bernadette Wright, AARP Public Policy Institute
July 2003
Learn More
- Report Home
- Full Report (PDF)
- In Brief (PDF)
- In Brief (HTML)
In recent years, many nursing homes have experienced dramatic increases in their liability insurance premiums. Many insurers have stopped offering coverage altogether in some states, making coverage difficult to obtain. Policy proposals to address these problems include limits on litigation (tort reform), improved enforcement of nursing home quality standards, risk management, experience ratings, alternative forms of insurance, and strengthened regulation of the insurance industry.
In this AARP Public Policy Institute Issue Paper, Bernadette Wright provides information on the nature and extent of problems with the cost and availability of nursing home liability insurance, the causes of these problems, and proposed solutions. After reviewing the research related to each of the major policy proposals, the paper concludes that solutions that aim to improve the quality of care and reward good providers merit attention as first steps in making liability insurance more affordable and available. (53 pages)
Pub ID: 2003-08