The Nursing Home Reform Law, part of the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1987 (OBRA ’87), was passed twenty years ago with hopes of improving the quality of nursing homes throughout the United States. Today, however, there are still concerns about the progress that has been achieved since this legislation and the overall quality of long-term care.

These toplines present the detailed results from the survey Update on the Public’s Views of Nursing Homes and Long-Term Care Services. The survey evaluates the public’s opinion of the current state of long-term care in the United States. Specifically, it assesses personal experiences, perceptions of quality and staffing, and opinions of government regulation related to nursing homes and long-term care services.

The survey was designed and analyzed by researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation. Telephone interviews were conducted from October 1-10, 2007, among a nationally representative sample of 1,032 adults ages 18 and older. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.

The survey was released at a December 7, 2007 briefing sponsored by the Alliance for Health Reform and the Kaiser Family Foundation.

 Toplines (.pdf)

New Resources and Briefing Explore Nursing Home Reform Twenty Years After Passage of Landmark Law