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As Florida Nursing Home Residents Died, Trump Donors Raked In Federal Handouts

Florida facilities connected to Eliezer Scheiner of New York have the worst outbreaks of COVID in the state, yet with the $3mil Scheiner raised for Trump, he was able to get restrictions relaxed on nursing homes and many more millions in federal handouts.

Florida facilities connected to Eliezer ("Lazer") Scheiner of New York have the worst outbreaks of COVID in the state, yet with the $3mil Scheiner raised for Trump, he was able to get much more than what he paid for. A few months after the fundraising event, Trump would relax oversight of nursing homes, right in time for the devastation of COVID-19. Couple that with the tens of millions in federal handouts from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services. And they want still more, including liability from an potential lawsuits due to their gross negligence. (Their point man is Mitch McConnell.) All in all, a pretty healthy return on investment, even if that meant more nursing home residents would die.

Source: McClatchy

The day before Williams learned that her mother had COVID, Southern Oaks reported that 92 residents and 15 employees at the 210-bed facility had tested positive for the virus — the most cases of any nursing home in the state at that point.

It’s one of a number of troubled Florida facilities connected to Eliezer Scheiner, a New York nursing home operator who has made headlines for the poor quality of care in his homes in other states, although the connections are obscured in records. He is also known for his fundraising for President Donald Trump.

Nursing homes, which rely almost exclusively on state and federal payments from Medicaid and Medicare, are heavy political spenders and not shy about flexing that political muscle. As COVID-19 has led to more than 150,000 cases and more than 40,000 deaths nationwide in nursing homes, owners have pushed for immunity from lawsuits stemming from their handling of the virus. That is despite the fact that problems at some homes predate the virus and that industry insiders acknowledge many nursing homes didn’t have sufficient infection controls to stop the spread of the highly contagious COVID-19.

While they’ve had mixed success in winning immunity, nursing homes have gotten nearly $10 billion in federal funds from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services to help offset COVID-19 costs.

Late last year, Scheiner organized a fundraiser that brought in roughly $3 million to support Trump’s re-election bid, giving $750,000 himself.

“I want to thank Eli Scheiner for doing such an incredible job,” Trump said at last year’s fundraiser.

More on this event from Nov. 2019, Hundreds Of Orthodox Jews Welcome President Trump At Fundraiser In Manhattan.

And hard to disagree with this assessment.

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