JEFFERSON CITY - Claire McCaskill’s outrageous claims in a new television ad that she led the way on nursing home reform conveniently ignores the fact that she was nowhere to be found when state lawmakers passed nursing home reform legislation three years ago.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported in July 2004, that while McCaskill and Bob Holden sought to take credit for bipartisan nursing home reform legislation passed in 2003, it was former Lt. Gov. Joe Maxwell that actually kept the bill moving.¹

Furthermore, when the legislation (Senate Bill 556) was debated in the Legislature, a number of Republicans, Democrats and senior advocacy groups testified in support of the bill but McCaskill was noticeably absent.² Later in May 2003, Maxwell did not even mention McCaskill when he wrote an op-ed piece thanking those who contributed to the passage of the bill.³

Despite these facts, McCaskill, who made $3 million from family-owned nursing homes while running for governor in 2004⁴, is now falsely claiming that she established tougher penalties and bigger fines for nursing home violations. In fact, McCaskill has conducted just three nursing home audits out of the nearly 900 audits her office has released since she became state auditor.⁵ In addition, McCaskill has yet to follow through on her 1998 campaign pledge to stop payments to nursing homes that abuse Missouri seniors, and one of her family’s taxpayer funded senior care facilities is the focus of a pending 26-plaintiff wrongful death lawsuit in St. Louis City Circuit Court.⁶

“The voters of Missouri will hold Claire McCaskill accountable for her deplorable record on nursing homes,” said Paul Sloca, communications director for the Missouri Republican Party. “Claire McCaskill already bragged about a vote she said she cast in the legislature in 1990 when she wasn’t there and now she’s taking credit for nursing home legislation she had nothing to do with. McCaskill also promised in 1998 to stop payments to nursing homes that allow elderly abuse. Now she says she has no authority. McCaskill’s failure to protect our seniors and her failure to tell the truth shows she just can’t be trusted.”

¹ St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 7/31/2004
² 2003 State House records, SB 556, Summary of House Committee Version
³ St. Charles County Business Record, 5/14/2003
⁴ St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 8/27/2006
⁵ Missouri State Auditor’s Office, Yearly audit records
⁶ Myers v. Heritage Dunbar Apartments LP, St. Louis City Circuit Court, Case #22042-00945