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A Tulsa-based consumer group says many Oklahoma nursing homes appear to be operating without malpractice insurance.

Hugh M. Robert, executive director of the Oklahoma Center for Consumer & Patient Safety, says the lack of insurance often leaves families with no legal recourse if a nursing home patient suffers serious neglect or abuse.

Robert told a Capitol news conference some nursing homes are operated by shell companies that have no assets and no insurance.

He called for enactment of a Senate-passed bill to require nursing homes to carry insurance.

Becky Moore, executive director of the Oklahoma Association of Health Care providers, says a blizzard of lawsuits has led to a fivefold increase in insurance rates in recent years.

She says the company that supplied insurance to most nursing homes in the state is in bankruptcy.

Topics Oklahoma