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PA is the only state where nursing homes can sue the adult children of patients for outstanding bills, but this can be changed Pennsylvania is alone in allowing nursing homes, which are often corporately owned, to sue the children and spouses of patients over outstanding bills. Nursing home care costs a few hundred dollars each day, which means this can lead to significant hardships, even for children who are estranged, were abused by that parent as a child or played no role in their parent's decision to enter that facility in the first place. This has effected me personally and I have also seen it in the work I do in elder care. But, unfortunately, I think many people are unaware of how our system works until it effects them. Nursing homes do work with families to help patients apply for Medicaid to cover the cost of care when someone enters their facility, but this can be a stressful and confusing process and families can struggle with locating all of the financial documents from the past few years that are required for the application, especially if there is no Power of Attorney in place. While the families are scrambling to locate documents and file the paperwork, then also during the period of time when the Medicaid application is being processed, bills are piling up. If it turns out the application is later rejected and the patient will be denied Medicaid coverage for any reason, family members can get hit with a large bill. Courts can even garnish wages to cover the cost of ongoing future care. As we face potential cuts to the Medicaid program, I am even more concerned about how this could effect PA families in the future. Currently, House Bill 65, which aims to reform our filial responsibility laws and make them more similar to those in other states, is with the house health committee while they hear from stakeholders. I don't know who these stakeholders are, but think we need to make sure they hear from voices beyond those in the nursing home industry l