Occupancy levels in skilled care settings dropped to a five-year low of 81.6% in the third quarter, according to the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care.
That’s down 29 basis points from the prior quarter and down 167 basis points year-over-year, the NIC report found. A basis point is one one-hundredth of 1%.
“Historically, there has been some variability in the occupancy trend in the third quarter in any given year, so it is difficult to gauge the impact of seasonality,” said Bill Kauffman, senior principal at NIC. “Occupancy did set a new low within this time series in the third quarter as pressure continues on the Medicare mix. However, it did decline at a slower pace from the prior quarter.”
While Medicare patient mix sank to 12.2%. Medicaid share rose to a five-year high of 66.8%.
“Not only is it important to see how the patient mix is changing over time, but we really need to see how the revenue mix is changing in conjunction with patient days, which is why NIC will be expanding this data set to include revenue mix next year,” said Beth Burnham Mace, NIC’s chief economist.
From the January 01, 2018 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
