In case you missed it, a new
report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) confirms our nation's nursing homes are chronically underfunded by Medicaid. Last week, ASPE publicized their findings:
“We found that Medicaid payment rates for the average or median nursing home covered about 82 cents per every dollar of reported cost nursing homes incurred caring for Medicaid residents. For approximately 40% of nursing homes, Medicaid per diem payments covered 80% or less of their estimated per diem Medicaid costs."
McKnight's Long-Term Care News covered the report, and spoke with John Bowblis, Ph.D, professor and research fellow of the Scripps Gerontology Center at Miami University and co-author of the report. He explains:
“If a nursing home wants to make investments in quality improvement, whether that be [improving] staffing levels or paying workers more to lower turnover, that means they need to have adequate financial resources. And that's not going to be feasible given the current payment models."
“Serving seniors is a privilege and an honor for nursing home providers across the country, but in too many states, Medicaid reimbursement is not sustainable,"
said Clif Porter, president and CEO of the American Health Care Association (AHCA). “As a country, we have a sacred duty to provide that safety net for our nation's most vulnerable. Federal and state officials must stop shortchanging their care."
The new report underscores the fact that the Administration's federal staffing mandate is impracticable. Long term care facilities have been sounding the alarm over inadequate Medicaid funding for years, but are now being forced to comply with a massive new regulation without new funding. Rather than provide nursing homes with support to recruit more workers, the Administration's one-size-fits-all mandate would exacerbate workforce challenges and worsen seniors' access to care.
AHCA's
2024 Access to Nursing Home Care Report found that since 2020, at least 774 nursing homes have closed, displacing nearly 30,000 residents. On average, nursing homes that close serve a high proportion of residents on Medicaid (62 percent) and have a severe negative operating margin (-19 percent).
The staffing mandate is estimated to put nearly one-quarter of nursing home residents – more than 290,000 seniors and individuals with disabilities – at risk for displacement, as facilities are forced to downsize or permanently close because they can't find staff to meet the requirement. Rural and underserved communities would be hit hardest. An
AHCA analysis of the mandate found nursing homes that predominantly serve residents on Medicaid are less likely to meet the rule's requirements.
With more than 6 in 10 nursing home residents relying on Medicaid, the program needs proper funding. Adequate Medicaid reimbursement will better equip nursing homes to invest in their workforce, care services, and efforts to modernize. Real, long-lasting transformation of America's nursing homes requires a commitment from policymakers to provide the necessary and consistent support.
Read more about the HHS study in McKnight's Long-Term Care
HERE and in Skilled Nursing News
HERE.
See AHCA's Access to Care Report
HERE.