Skilled nursing occupancy levels dropped 132 basis points to 83.4% during the month of March as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic — the lowest since 2012, according to data released by the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC) in late May.
The decrease was the result of more resident transfers from facilities to hospitals and fewer admissions from post-acute elective surgeries, according to NIC Senior Principal Bill Kauffman.
Data also revealed that occupancy slipped 134 basis points when compared to March 2019.
NIC officials said they will release findings from their Skilled Nursing Data Initiative on a monthly basis in response to rapid market changes caused by effects of the pandemic.
A snapshot released in late May revealed that occupancy for nursing care facilities fell 2.2 percentage points to 84.7% in April, the first full month of the pandemic.
Kauffman noted that future data likely will show larger impacts on occupancy for April, when the pandemic was “significantly more pervasive.”
Skilled mix decreased 59 basis points from February to March due to pressure on Medicare and managed Medicare, the latest findings also revealed.
There also was a drop in both Medicare and managed Medicare, of 18 basis points and 46 basis points, respectively, during the same February-to-March period.
“These declines suggest the pressure on new
post-acute admissions began in the month of March as COVID-19 started to impact skilled nursing properties,” Kauffman explained.
The report added that the managed Medicare revenue mix slipped 76 basis points in March due to the pandemic’s impact on admissions, while the Medicaid patient mix increased 66 basis points from February to March.
From the July/August 2020 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
