{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,12]],"date-time":"2025-03-12T14:40:09Z","timestamp":1741790409490,"version":"3.38.0"},"reference-count":0,"publisher":"Cambridge University Press (CUP)","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,2]],"date-time":"2024-04-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1712016000000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":123,"URL":"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/terms"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Am. J. Law. Med."],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2023,12]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title><jats:p>This Note explores an alarming, decades-old trend that has received renewed attention from enforcement agencies and the media: nursing homes suing family members and friends (\"relatives\") for residents\u2019 unpaid bills. As justification, nursing homes point to \u201cresponsible party\u201d clauses within admission agreements signed by relatives during the admission process. Undeterred by the 1987 Federal Nursing Home Reform Act\u2019s (FNHRA) prohibition on requiring relatives to act as financial guarantors in exchange for residents\u2019 admission, nursing homes use carefully worded \u201cresponsible party\u201d clauses to obtain virtually the same result: relatives\u2019 total liability for residents\u2019 unpaid balances. Relatives are frequently caught off-guard by these lawsuits; many who sign admission agreements do so without a proper understanding of the potential liability they are assuming and have limited (if any) access to residents\u2019 assets. This problem is aggravated by several aspects of the admission process that disadvantage relatives, such as the stressful and emotional nature of admission, the complicated language in admission agreements, and the inadequate\u2014at times, misleading\u2014guidance provided by nursing homes. This Note examines the tension between the FNHRA\u2019s financial protections for relatives and nursing homes\u2019 admission practices and use of \u201cresponsible party\u201d clauses. Furthermore, this Note proposes solutions aimed at better informing relatives of the legal risks associated with \u201cresponsible party\u201d clauses.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1017\/amj.2024.6","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,2]],"date-time":"2024-04-02T14:11:25Z","timestamp":1712067085000},"page":"511-524","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Read It Three Times, Then Read It Again: How Nursing Homes Use \u201cResponsible Party\u201d Clauses in Admission Agreements to Charge Relatives for Their Loved Ones\u2019 Care"],"prefix":"10.1017","volume":"49","author":[{"given":"Jason J.","family":"Perez Benavides","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"56","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,4,2]]},"container-title":["American Journal of Law &amp; Medicine"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/services\/aop-cambridge-core\/content\/view\/S0098858824000066","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,12]],"date-time":"2025-03-12T14:11:13Z","timestamp":1741788673000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/product\/identifier\/S0098858824000066\/type\/journal_article"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2023,12]]},"references-count":0,"journal-issue":{"issue":"4","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2023,12]]}},"alternative-id":["S0098858824000066"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/amj.2024.6","relation":{},"ISSN":["0098-8588","2375-835X"],"issn-type":[{"type":"print","value":"0098-8588"},{"type":"electronic","value":"2375-835X"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2023,12]]}}}