Advocates for Maine’s nursing homes and long-term care facilities are requesting $10 million in state funding, citing diminishing access to nursing home care amid closures spurred by inadequate reimbursement rates from the state’s Medicaid program.

Meghan Welch, market operating advisor for Genesis HealthCare, told Spectrum News that staffing shortages are preventing facilities from operating at full capacity, leaving more than 200 patients stuck in hospitals despite being medically cleared for discharge.

“We have the buildings, we have the expertise, but we don’t have the staffing or funding to operate at full capacity,” Welch said.

On Tuesday, representatives from the Maine Health Care Association and other care organizations appeared before the State House Appropriations Committee, urging lawmakers to include the funds in the upcoming budget.

Angela Westhoff, president and CEO of the Maine Health Care Association, highlighted the steady decline in nursing home availability, noting that Maine currently has only 79 nursing homes – down from 132 in 1995. This comes as the population over age 75 is expected to nearly double in Maine, from 142,000 today to 252,000 by 2040.

Westhoff cited inadequate reimbursement rates from MaineCare, the state’s Medicaid program, as a major reason for facility closures. Other challenges include a workforce shortage, rising operating costs, and increased regulatory demands. 

“Long term care lost between 10 and 15% of its workforce during the pandemic,” Westhoff told the outlet. “Those caregivers are the backbone of our centers.”

The problem is particularly severe in Maine’s rural counties, with one county losing all five of its nursing homes over the past decade, and another one seeing half of its facilities close since 2014, according to the new outlet.

Though Gov. Janet Mills included the $10 million request in her two-year budget proposal, the Democratic-led continuing services budget passed in March did not include it. Lawmakers are now developing a second budget to address unmet needs.

The Appropriations Committee is set to continue budget discussions later this week.