Legislation to give Montana’s nursing homes a measure of financial security moved a step closer to becoming law last week.
Legislative framework that passed in the state Senate on a vote of 37-13 last week creates “regular assessments” of the Medicaid reimbursement rate and trigger an adjustment for inflation, if one is needed, according to a report in the Billings Gazette. It noted that the bill is more focused on the lack of rate increases that have made facilities “more vulnerable” during a crisis than on “private payer price tags.”
The legislative text notes that, beginning July 1, 2025, Medicaid reimbursement rates must be increased at least to keep pace with inflation but are not to exceed 3%.
Rose Hughes, executive director of the Montana Health Care Association, told McKnights Long-Term Care News Monday that the bill is the only one introduced this session looking at “systemic problems” with how SNFs are funded. She said the bill would “put a fence around” nursing home Medicaid funds so that they cannot be shifted to other services.
The Montana Department of Health and Human Services underspent on nursing home by approximately $29 million and moved money to other programs in fiscal year 2022, and is on-track to do the same this year, Hughes said.
“If this bill had been in effect during 2022, some of the closures may have been averted and seniors living far from home might still be living in their home communities close to family and friends,” Hughes explained.
The state lost more than 850 beds in 2022 and saw the closure of 11 facilities over the last two years, according to the Montana Health Care Association. Nursing homes currently receive $212 per day per Medicaid resident, which is nearly 22% below “benchmark standards” for the cost of care, a study from Guidehouse Inc. released in September found. The study recommended upping reimbursements to $278 per resident per day.
Senators approved a cap on the inflation adjustment through an amendment in committee to prevent excessive spending.
The Montana Hospital Association, a LeadingAge affiliate, told McKnights Long-Term Care News on Monday that the association supports increasing nursing facility rates to what was proposed in the Guidehouse study in improve financial security.
“Our goal is to achieve the necessary funding by session’s end,” Bob Olsen, interim president and CEO of the association said.
In January, long-term care sector advocates pleaded with lawmakers to increase rates. The administrator of Pines of Polson told lawmakers that he could not compete with the $20 per hour wage being offered at a nearby Target.
