Occupancy rates may have stabilized, but skilled nursing providers’ dependence on low-paying Medicaid funding grew during the third quarter, according to figures released in December by the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care.
More than two-thirds (67.6%) of skilled nursing facility resident days were reimbursed by Medicaid — a rise of 0.6% — over the second quarter. It represents a high mark since NIC began reporting such data seven years ago.
The group’s 2019 Skilled Nursing Data Report revealed that both rural and urban care centers are experiencing Medicaid’s growing influence. There were 28 operators contributing data for the period ending Sept. 30. They represented 48 states and just under 10% of nursing homes (1,516) in the U.S.
Labor pressures once again showed themselves as a thorn in operators’ side, NIC noted. Although Medicaid revenue per patient day hit a time-series high of $214 in September (2.4% year-over-year growth), it “still trails nursing home wage growth by a wide margin,” report authors noted.
Findings could be a predictor of “profound” change in the future, NIC chief economist Beth Mace said.
Medicaid revenue mix climbed to 51.5% in the third quarter, an all-time high since NIC started tracking these stats in 2012.
From the January 2020 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
