IndyStar investigation reveals billions diverted from Indiana nursing homes
Just what is essential and exclusive local journalism, you ask? IndyStar investigative reporter Tony Cook has been delivering it for years.
Cook's latest reporting is a continuation of a 2020 investigation into Indiana county hospitals diverting Medicaid funds meant for the nursing homes they operate. That scheme has allowed the hospitals to to pad their bottom lines and pay for construction and other projects unrelated to nursing home care at a time when nursing home staffing in Indiana is among the worst in the nation.
Cook's reporting published this week uses data that was partially obtained through a public records lawsuit filed by IndyStar in 2022 to show, as he wrote, that "County-owned
hospitals in Indiana have diverted away more than $2.5 billion in
Medicaid money intended to provide care at nursing homes, leaving sick and elderly residents to languish in some of the most poorly staffed facilities in America."
A companion piece published Thursday shows that despite efforts to slash federal spending in President Donald Trump's second term, there's little appetite so far to address this scheme that's impacting the care of Indiana's most vulnerable residents.
Cook's dogged reporting is emblematic of IndyStar's commitment to watchdog and accountability journalism. Our investigative and expanded government accountability teams have worked independently and in collaboration to bring readers revelatory reporting about how decisions by Indiana's most powerful organizations impact our daily lives.
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IndyStar's yearslong investigation reveals extent of Indiana nursing home scheme
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