Despite Slew of Scandals, Hacienda to Keep State License and Medicaid Contract

Terms of a settlement agreement will allow Hacienda Healthcare to keep its state license and Medicaid contract under several conditions, including the mandatory hiring of a quality improvement expert.

In June 2019, the Arizona Department of Health Services issued a notice of intent to revoke the facility’s license following the discovery of maggots festering under a patient’s bandage. Hacienda had already been in the news for some time after a 29-year-old incapacitated woman gave birth to a baby boy in Dec. 2018; her pregnancy unbeknownst to the staff and doctors until labor began.

The state agency signed an agreement on Monday stating,

ADHS has decided that giving Hacienda another opportunity to achieve and sustain substantial compliance with all of the state licensing and federal [conditions of participation].

Hacienda also came to an agreement with the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on Jan. 6 that allows the facility to keep its Medicaid contract, despite CMS’ announcement it was terminating Hacienda’s Medicaid participation.

The 16-page document reads, in part:

CMS has determined that this agreement best serves the interest of the Medicaid program and that terminating Hacienda … could have a detrimental impact on the communities that Hacienda serves as well as the Medicaid program and its beneficiaries.

Aside from hiring external quality improvement experts, Hacienda must agree to regular monitoring of its care and facilities from multiple groups, according to both agreements.

The Arizona Center for Disability Law told KTAR News it would be one of those groups monitoring Hacienda, “ACDL intends to conduct routine monitoring visits to ensure the safety and care of all the residents,” CEO J.J. Rice told the radio station.

To view both settlement agreements with the ADHS and CMS, check out KTAR News. 

Also, take a look at the Arizona Republic’s reporting.