Throw Grandma from the nursing home

In yet another fine display of their "what's good for bidness, is good for the commonwealth" philosophy, North Carolina Republicans are now proposing that nursing homes should be allowed foist hard-to-care-for charges onto the county governments.

When a North Carolina assisted-living facility accepts a resident, the home has the legal responsibility to look after the person or to find a safe alternative placement.

But a bill making its way through the state House would shift that responsibility to county social services departments, which don't want the responsibility of dealing with early-morning phone calls demanding the care of a person with a disability such as dementia.

The bill also would allow facilities to escape state sanctions after making an unsuccessful attempt to find a new place for a resident.

Some advocates for older people say the bill could result in some of the most dependent residents being released to homelessness.

It's hard to come up with a more cruel and mean-spirited policy (though we shouldn't put this bunch to the challenge). The proposed change would put the most vulnerable patients at risk while also increasing responsibilities for county health agencies that the Republicans' are already targeting for cuts.