Yesterday, Nov. 15th, the Senate said it would push for legislation that would increase penalties on nursing homes that did not give proper care to its patients, in addition to requiring more transparent ownership.

Their hope is that more enforcement power will be given to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to monitor the performance levels of nursing homes.

Currently, the CMS funds two-thirds of nursing home care through its Medicare and Medicaid programs.

This response from the Senate, and another similar response from the House, were spurred by a September 23 New York Times story on the poor care patients are receiving at nursing homes bought by large investment groups, who then cut costs to line their own pockets.

For the full report on the Senator's in action on Reuter's, click here.