Market

After hitting record prices in 2007, the average price paid per bed for skilled nursing facilities fell by 18% to $45,500 in 2008, a new report by Irving Levin Associates Inc. found.

The charge for a private nursing home room in 2008 dropped about a half percentage point over a year earlier, while the national average for a semi-private bed rose just 1.1%, according to a new national survey released Tuesday.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will be hosting an "Open Door Forum" on Tuesday (tomorrow) to discuss, among other issues, the new five-star rating system for nursing homes.