But Bon Secours had one of the lowest totals of extra charges and Shady Grove the highest. Physical, occupational and speech therapy cost extra too. Prices are usually quoted as price per unit of treatment, which often lasts 15 minutes. At those prices, it's not hard to see how therapy is beyond the means of most families who must pay on their own. Even if you find cheaper therapy services, a facility might not allow you to bring a therapist into the nursing home.
Prescription drugs are another profit center at nursing homes.
Drugs and other supplies residents need carry high markups, and families are often captives of the nursing homes and pharmaceutical outlets connected to them. Beverly Enterprises, for instance, owns Pharmacy Corporation of America. Nursing facilities may require you to use their drug suppliers or at least make it difficult to use others that may be cheaper. CR sought prices for three common prescriptions taken by older people from the pharmacies supplying five nursing facilities. One refused to quote prices, and the others were suspicious of our query and provided questionable information, making it impossible to compare their prices with those from local pharmacies or from mail-order sources.