“Pursuing unpaid bills, nursing homes across [Rochester, NY] have been routinely suing not only residents but their friends and family, a KHN review of court records reveals. The practice has ensnared scores of children, grandchildren, neighbors, and others, many with nearly no financial ties to residents or legal responsibility for their debts. . . .

“The nursing home industry has quietly developed what consumer attorneys and patient advocates say is a pernicious strategy of pursuing family and friends of patients despite federal law that was enacted to protect them from debt collection. . . .

“The legal strategy is often rooted in admissions agreements, the piles of paperwork that family or friends sometimes sign, not realizing the financial risks. . . .

“By signing a nursing home admissions agreement, many friends and relatives of residents unknowingly expose themselves to being sued if the nursing home can’t collect from the resident. The key language is buried in the small print.”

–Noam Levey, “Nursing homes are Suing Friends and Family to Collect on Patients’ Bills” NPR July 28, 2022 

I have no idea whether I signed a form that left me open to that kind of risk.