The homes notified this week of the potential cutoff are the first of what could be 135 adult care homes within the state affected by a federal rule that bars facilities from having more than half of its beds occupied by residents with a primary diagnosis of mental illness. Those patients increasingly began living in facilities primarily intended for the elderly over the last decade, as state lawmakers mandated deep cuts to government-run mental hospitals and treatment services as part of a failed privatization plan.

 

The homes in violation are Heritage Care of Conover, Hunter Village in Huntersville and two locations of Pinebrook Residential Center in Yadkinville.