A majority of provider CFOs surveyed in August said their organizations are being hurt by Medicare Advantage plans.
About 70% reported a moderate to significant negative impact, while just 6% reported a moderate to significant positive impact. About 24% said they felt little impact.
“Any Medicare Advantage billings that we have had have been terrible. The insurance company pre-authorizes the care; pays for it and then six months to a year later takes the money back,” one CFO noted in the survey, which was conducted by Ziegler and included 183 responses.
“[We] need the advantage plans to look more closely at outcomes from all the providers when it comes to admission to their network,” another CFO wrote.
In addition, 32% reported that long-term skilled nursing occupancy was lower than last year, while 47% said it remained the same. About 22% said it was higher.
On the short-stay side, about 39% said their occupancy was lower than a year ago, while 38% said it remained the same and 23% were higher.
Findings also showed that 80% of providers are noticing shorter lengths of stays in skilled nursing.
From the October 2019 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
