North Carolina Patient Trust Bond
Nursing Home Facilities are required to obtain a Patient Trust Bond by the State of North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services as a financial guarantee to patients whose funds are managed by the nursing home.
Here at Jet, we have created a simplified method of purchasing a bond utilizing a minute long online application.
How Much Does the Patient Trust Fund Bond Cost?
With Jet, the price to purchase a patient trust bond for a nursing home facility starts at $100 a year. Prices will vary based on the bonding limit and personal credit of the nursing home operator. The qualifying rates shown below demonstrate the options of preferred tiers of pricing.
| Bond Limit | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| $10,000 | $10 | $100 |
| $25,000 | $19 | $188 |
| $50,000 | $38 | $375 |
Where Does The Patient Trust Bond Get Filed?
The original bond needs to be held by the nursing home. Jet will send the original form directly to the address provided at checkout. You will also receive a copy of the bond upon purchase online.
Will I Get a Refund If I Cancel the Patient Trust Bond?
Our competitors seize any opportunity to attach additional fees for the customer. It is common for insurance brokers and agents to withhold minimum earned premiums in addition to commission fees. Luckily for you, Jet does not participate in the game of stacking fees. At Jet, we maximize our refunds by sending back all premium amounts that have yet to be earned. This means you will receive any unused bond premium amounts for any bond purchased annually.
For customers who have purchased the bond to be paid on a monthly basis, cancellation of the bond requires very little action. No additional paperwork is required. Simply notify Jet that you would like to stop automatic payments. With the monthly payment option you would not receive a refund.
The patient trust bond has a 30-day clause in which the bond will remain active even after Jet receives cancellation notice from the nursing home. Jet will consider the active time period when calculating the return premium of the bond as the bond must remain active for that time period.
How Does a Nursing Home Facility Avoid Bond Claims?
The operator of the nursing home facility is required to abide by the regulations set forth by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The North Carolina State Operations Manual for Long Term Care Facilities outlines instances of noncompliance relevant to financial affairs.
Below is a list of noncompliant activities that may result in a claim against your bond:
- Forcibly requiring residents to deposit their personal funds with the facility.
- Commingling patients trust funds with any other account.
- Not crediting all interest earned on a resident’s funds to the resident’s account.
- Disbursing the resident’s funds to anyone without the consent of the resident or the resident’s representative.
- Not providing a resident access to their funds when requested.
- The facility must not charge the personal funds of a resident for any item or service for which payment is made under Medicaid or Medicare (except for applicable deductible and coinsurance amounts).
To avoid a claim and ensure that the proper procedures are in place, nursing home facilities must maintain the following guidelines relevant to accounting and records:
- The facility must establish and maintain a system that assures a full and complete separate accounting, according to generally accepted accounting principles, of each resident’s personal funds entrusted to the facility on behalf of the resident.
- The system must prevent any commingling of residents funds with facility funds or funds of any other resident.
- Individual financial records must be made available to residents through quarterly statements and upon request.
Patients or a representative may file a claim against the nursing home to financially recover amounts up to the bond limit for any breaches of contract on behalf of the nursing home. It is the responsibility of the nursing home to conduct any investigations relevant to patient fund claims. The Department of Health and Human Services provides oversight and regulates the nursing home operations.
Why Is the Patient Trust Bond Required?
Under the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, the Division of Medical Assistance strives to provide necessary services that work to improve the health, safety, and well-being of individuals residing in North Carolina. The state of North Carolina created the North Carolina State Operations Manual for Long Term Care Facilities to outline the operational requirements a nursing home facility should uphold.
It is encouraged for nursing home residents to manage their own financial accounts, but should they not have the capacity to, this leaves the resident in a vulnerable position. The patient trust bond ensures financial protection for residents living in nursing homes who have left the nursing home as safekeepers for their finances.
Should the resident suffer a loss from the facilities' failure to hold, safeguard, manage or account for the residents funds and not make amends for the loss, the Surety (Jet) will provide financial compensation to the resident.
How Long Does The Application Process Take?
Gone are the days of waiting for an agent to process your application with third party carriers while sharing your information everywhere online. With Jet, an online bond purchase takes a few minutes. We offer the luxury of working with the surety carrier directly!
The online application for the patient trust bond does require a soft credit check. This procedure takes a matter of minutes and does not affect your credit score. After you have purchased the bond you will receive a copy of the bond along with the receipt.
How Do I Renew My Bond With Jet?
Typically, those who choose to purchase the bond on an annual basis do have to go through a renewal process. Luckily for you, Jet has streamlined this process down to an online payment or sending in a check for the renewal premium amount.
Nursing home operators who utilize the monthly payment option do not have to think twice about the renewal of the bond. As long as the automatic payments continue, the bond remains active.
