Can a nursing home open patient mail and take checks?

ANOTHER UPDATE: got a copy of the back of the check, it is NOT endorsed, No signature, no "for deposit only", no account number. And it has the usual "Do not write below this line Know your endorser" Hysterical as it is not endorsed. It has a horizontal line with the words "electronically presented". I assume that means the "paper" check plucked from my cousin's mail by the nursing home accounting person did not continue thru the banking system as a "paper" check but was converted to an electronic payment, Thus no eyes to "know your endorser."
And yes I am still "queasy" about the staff going thru resident mail and taking checks. No explanation from the nursing home as to why they looked her in the eye and told her the check wasn't there. . I hear my dad to this day -"it's the principle of the thing!"

Alva: Agree with your post since we found out on 9/3 that the check was used in the proper way. Thanks.

Thanks for the update.

UPDATE We confirmed today that the resident, my cousin, did NOT sign anything granting the facility permission to open her mail. The check was put against her private pay bill and we have not argued with that. We believe the woman in charge of money (billing and the residents' in house bank) plucked the check from the mail before it could be delivered to my cousin. I have not confirmed it was her with Administration because voicemails and emails are unreturned. The 3rd party billing office said she is one who processes money. The same woman told my cousin, "the check is not in the building" more than a week after she had taken it. The administrator told me, "no one has seen the check" and that i should contact the state and check the address. We hope the State will be able to provide a copy of the back of the check to see how it was endorsed.
We will follow up to confirm how/who/what happened and politely but firmly stress this should not happen. No other government checks like this will be forthcoming. And i will stress to her friends to be cautious when mailing her anything. Thanks everyone for your input, especially AlvaDeer, you are a love.

IMMEDIATELY go to the local Post Master of the post office. File a complaint against the facility and heaven help them - they are committing a federal crime. I found out that is how to protect oneself from facilities opening and taking mail. I had mail addressed to me which contained medication as I handle 99.9% of everything myself and they said it had to go to the nurses. I threatened them with a postal complaint in violation of federal laws. Never, ever did I ever have mail withheld again. And it does not cost you anything to do that. You can talk to the p.m. and then tell the facility you will file a federal complaint for mail violation. That should shake them up and make them stop. And may be you could have all of the mail sent to YOU, not to the patient.

I'd called the State Health Dept. and ask.  Or go in person.  I did that ( in person) about an issue I was having, and they contacted me the same day.  Mine was pretty serious and I was instructed to do so by Medicare.  Medicaid is also government funding, but it usually overseen by the State Department.

This is WRONG!! First of all a nursing home can only open a resident's mail if that resident has given them written permission to do so. Even if the resident has given permission for the home to open their mail a nursing home can NOT take a check and automatically put it towards payment for an outstanding bill!! The home must asked the resident's permission to use that money for that purpose. That is what they must do according to Federal Law.

If the home put the money towards a "credit" as they stated I would go to them and tell them you want that money transferred to the resident personal account immediately, if they refuse to do so I would call the Ombudsman for assistant or the State and report them for financial exploitation of your loved one.

No, That woul dbe Illegal, tell them you shall Invlve a Lawyer and to Up the Truth and/or Speak to the Social Worker at the Facility Here, dear.

No, the facility does not or should not open patients' mail! That is an infringement on privacy! Go to the Ombudsman. Or better yet - hire an elder law attorney.

Lawyer up.

Ask a lawyer INSTANTLY!!! I think this is FRAUD. I would also report them to the proper authorities. How dare them? Unless...something to this effect was signed by your cousin? I would investigate this very closely before it happens again. Best of luck!

depends on the contract with the nursing home - there are riders where, for sheer convenience, the facility is authorized by the family to review mail content (this can be a good thing with all the scams that are out there), and given limited POA so that pension payments, annuities, etc. may be routed to an account used for the patient's expenses without having to call on a family member to endorse each and every time.
Did anyone give the facility advance notice that the payment was coming in and to hold it?

If you have Power of Attorney for her financial matters, try to get all mail sent to your address. You'll have to put through change of address notices for every place that sends her mail.

They can if the mail comes to the nursing home / A/L general mail box they can open it. If it goes to an individuals personal mail box then the staff cannot open it.

If the back of the check says anything, it may just say, "For deposit only.". Deposits can be accepted that way. Withdrawals require a signature and ID, but deposits can be made without a personal signature.
Depending on the status of your cousin's Medicaid eligibility, the money might ultimately go to the NH anyway, but the NH's taking the money directly seems very wrong!

There is a possibility that the check was not endorsed in any way. Banks only check for endorsement for checks over certain amounts(per bank policy). When I have a check to deposit, I run it through the ATM with no personal endorsement.

Do a notary affidavit saying you did not get the check and request to reissue one. But this time ask them to to do a direct deposit. Keep in mind anything he makes goes towards his care in nursing home.

Holy Cow! The audacity!

I would look at the facility's regulations for dealing with mail. Only the person with financial power of attorney can legally endorse checks or deal with financial matters. It might be better to have her mail sent to person who has power of attorney for finances. This person can take care of financials and "send" the other mail to your loved one.

I would report this to the US postal inspectors and let them take action.

UPDATE!  I cannot figure out how to add to the question or edit it. Here is what I found out from my cousin in our visit today.
1. She never saw the check.  No mail received.
2. She signed papers on admission(Jan) and a paper to move her social security to the facility in house bank back in April, She has signed nothing since.
3. The money lady she asked about the expected Unclaimed Property Check told her "there is nothing in the mailroom". Of course there wasn't, by the time she asked, the check had already been taken and put against her invoice. We just didn't know til the amount, $570 was clearly posted as a payment on her bill rec/d 8/29.  The outsourced billing co confirmed this woman sends in the checks to them.
4. Cousin will ask the social worker exactly what papers she has signed and if she signed a form permitting them to open her mail, she will rescind it. She said "I don't want anyone opening my mail and I would not have authorized it," providing they were clear what she was signing.
My job is to see the BACK of that check and how it was endorsed.  I will call the billing co again. they said the front of the check was payable to the patient and they didn't have a scan of the back. They can try again.  And I will call the nice contact I made at the Unclaimed Property Office, a claims examiner, who was concerned when I related what I knew last week. A state check should make its way in canceled form back to the state, right?
Thank you all so much. Feel like you all "have my back". My cousin was willing to keep asking questions there but I told her I will work to get a copy of the endorsement and go from there. She doesn't need the upset. Now off to find the Advil, have given myself a wicked headache!

Paula039, just read that check was addressed to your cousin! Call Federal Prosecutor and US Postal Fraud Division and file a criminal complaint. Have the information/ evidence you have gathered. Approximate time and dates of phone calls ( use phone log on phone).

They will be eager to settle out of court with your cousin, but there will still be a paper trail if they try this with anyone else.

I hope you get some satisfactory answers, Paula.

Let's say, just for illustrative purposes, that something like this happened:

The mail arrived at the NH.
Your cousin's letters were duly delivered to her in her room.
She gave the repayment letter and check to a worker, saying she wasn't sure if this was the letter she was expecting or how how to deal with it.
The worker didn't know either, and toddled off with it to the office, and handed it to an administrator.
The administrator, later that morning, popped to your cousin's room and asked her to endorse the check - just handing her the check, reversed, and a pen, and saying "sign here please." Your cousin obligingly did so and asked no questions.
The check was paid in.
Your cousin did not connect any of the above with the letter she was expecting.
Everybody over the next three weeks was referring to this letter and understanding the words 'unclaimed property check' in different ways.

So, let's suppose it's something as innocent as the above, nobody actually being a weasel. It's STILL not okay. Because ANY such interactions or transactions should have been documented in detail in your cousin's notes. They can use this as an opportunity for teaching and learning.

From what I learned from experience in a certain situation some time ago where the mail, addressed to me personally, was not given to me because it contained medication - they wanted the nurses to open the package - I went to the postmaster. I found out it is a FEDERAL VIOLATION to withhold and open someone else's name. I threatened to go ahead and file the complaint and the person who would not release the mail to ME and the facility would be heavily fined. I never had a problem after that. If this woman is getting mail, the caretaker or family must IMMEIATELY PUT A STOP TO THE WOMAN. The facility can receive a horrible punishment if they continue to open and steal her mail. Get this stopped and corrected at once.

Paula, the bank in which the account is held should have a copy of the back of the check.   I remember years ago before banks stopped returning cancelled checks that the monthly checking statement including copies of the back, as endorsed.   You probably have to pay a fee to get it, but a branch bank should be able to pull it up quickly and print out a copy for you.   

W\o rereading the earlier posts, I don't recall if you have any authority or are a co-signer on the account, so that could be an issue.    If it is, ask what they would require from your cousin, a letter or affidavit perhaps, to allow you to order a copy of the check and get that.   Your cousin could also call in authority, but if she's not well known by the bank, that might not be accepted.  She could send a letter, witnessed by someone other than you.

Good luck.

I agree this sounds wrong - demand to see the endorsement. Seems facility is interfering with the US Mail if they are opening residents' mail without their authorization.

Paula039, you say your cousin is "good mentally". Can you not ask her if she endorsed the check?
Did you ask the facility about the credit to her monthly bill? What did they say?

Are you absolutely sure what you are seeing on the invoice is a deduction and not a credit?

Did your cousin or your cousin's legal representative at any time authorise the NH to open your cousin's mail? If not...

"It's a federal offense to open mail that doesn't belong to you. If you do it intentionally, you could be looking at a $250,000 fine and up to five years in a federal prison."

I have some familiarity with federal laws regarding long-term care facilities. Here is an excerpt from a chapter about elder law published by a legal publisher in my state: "A resident has the right to have private, unrestricted communications with his or her family, physician, advanced practice nurse prescriber, attorney, and any other person, unless medically contraindicated as documented by the resident’s physician or advanced practice nurse prescriber in the resident’s medical records, except that communications with public officials or the resident’s attorney cannot be restricted under any circumstances. This right includes, but is not limited to, the right to receive, send, and mail sealed, unopened correspondence;..."