Michael Hash

The quality of care in nursing homes is improving, Michael Hash asserts in the following viewpoint. According to Hash, this improvement is the result of the government’s enforcement of tough nursing home regulations and a subsequent initiative that provided further protection to nursing home residents. Hash is the deputy administrator for the Health Care Financing Administration. This viewpoint is excerpted from testimony Hash gave in front of the Senate Special Committee on Aging in response to a report by the General Accounting Office on the quality of care in America’s nursing homes.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. What are some of the specific issues that the Health Care Financing Administration is addressing, according to Hash?
2. As stated by the author, who has the primary responsibility for conducting...