This article is sponsored by Curana Health. In this Voices interview, Skilled Nursing News speaks with Amy Kaszak, Executive Vice President at Curana Health, about the benefits of value-based care (VBC) for skilled nursing facilities and why operators who think of VBC as something in the future need to realize the opposite is true: they’re likely already in it.
Skilled Nursing News: Amy, let’s set the stage for our discussion with some background on Curana Health. What is its connection to value-based care, and how does Curana partner with skilled nursing operators?
AMY KASZAK: Sure! At Curana Health, our mission is to improve the health, happiness and dignity of skilled nursing and senior living residents across the country. We do so in two very specific ways.
First, we partner with skilled nursing facilities and senior living communities to offer prevention-focused, on-site care for residents. For skilled nursing operators specifically, we offer medical directorship services, post-acute care for short-term residents and behavioral health and primary care services for long-term residents.
Secondly, we offer operators the chance to participate in value-based care models, including Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and Medicare Advantage Special Needs Plans (MA SNPs). By participating in our programs, our partners can become eligible for shared savings based on their support of care coordination efforts.
Additionally, if an operator is ready to start their own MA SNP, we can provide the operational support and oversight needed for success.
That’s great context. So Amy, with the current state of the industry, do you think it’s important for skilled nursing operators to consider value-based care solutions?
KASZAK: Absolutely. In fact, skilled nursing operators are already participating in value-based care, whether they know it or not!
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has already started shifting payments away from pure volume and toward patient need and quality, such as with the Patient Driven Payment Model (PDPM) and others.
With this in mind, I believe the question isn’t whether skilled nursing operators should be participating in value-based care — they already are. The question is how they can take the next step and utilize these models themselves to improve their residents’ health outcomes, enhance their operations, reduce staff burden and identify new financial opportunities.
Let’s take a moment to really spell out the benefits of value-based care. How can programs and models like MA SNPs and ACOs help support financial stability, specifically regarding long-term care populations?
KASZAK: That’s such an important question, because long-term care is where operators often feel the greatest financial pressure.
The reality is that Medicaid reimbursement is lower, and it can be difficult for facilities to cover the true cost of care for these residents. That’s where value-based models can truly make an impact. Operators that sponsor or co-sponsor an MA SNP can participate in monthly risk-adjusted capitation payments through the health plan they control or partner with, and those dollars are directed toward providing enhanced benefits and coverage for residents.
When care is well coordinated and outcomes are optimized, resources are freed up, allowing operators to expand wellness programs, strengthen staff support, and further enhance resident health and quality of life. By participating in an ACO, SNF operators also have the opportunity to receive shared savings by playing a strong role in care coordination efforts. And some ACOs include a three-day stay waiver, which means a resident who needs rehab can “skill in place” in the facility rather than being sent to the hospital first. That not only prevents unnecessary transfers and hospital-acquired complications, but it also keeps residents in the environment they know best.
When you put it all together, you start to see how these models provide stability and support operators in caring for their long-term care populations.
What about the potential impact of value-based care solutions on the short-term care side of skilled nursing facilities?
KASZAK: That’s a great question, and often something that is overlooked.
While MA SNPs and ACOs are usually discussed in the context of long-term care, the on-site primary care, accurate documentation practices and enhanced medical directorship services that accompany these models support short-stay patients and related operations as well.
For instance, on the documentation side, value-based providers work to accurately risk profile members in the plan and/or the ACO. If those documentation protocols are in place throughout your facility, they will not only positively impact your long-term care population, but your short-term care population as well. Specifically, they can support earlier detection of health concerns and reduce preventable hospitalizations.
Those documentation protocols can also support your Minimum Data Set (MDS) coordinator as they work to code short-stay patients accurately for reimbursement purposes.
The advanced medical directorship services that are often a hallmark of value-based care models are another important piece, as engaged physician leaders help lead QAPI efforts, oversee medication stewardship and prevent survey deficiencies. This helps improve and maintain quality ratings, which in turn, can strengthen referral relationships.
So overall, there is a halo effect from value-based care programs across the skilled nursing care continuum, which is something we see and hear from our partners every day.
What advice would you give operators who are considering value-based care opportunities and partnerships?
KASZAK: First of all, as skilled nursing operators, know your value. If you’re not getting paid for the value you are creating for your long-term care residents, somebody else is.
And, if you’re ready to get started in value-based care but feel overwhelmed by the options, just know that you don’t have to jump straight into the deep end all at once. Maybe you start with an ACO that rewards you for contributing to better health outcomes and hold off on a SNP, or vice versa. No matter what your organization’s risk tolerance and goals are, there is a path for you in value-based care.
And even better, once you integrate one value-based care solution, it gets easier to implement more in the future. That’s because the steps for implementation are often the same and lay the groundwork for other models.
So overall, I encourage operators not to think of value-based care integration as a huge leap, but instead as a series of steps. Each one makes the next easier, and together, they can create a foundation for healthier residents and greater financial and operational stability.
Final question: For value-based care, 2026 will be the year of_____.
KASZAK: For value-based care, 2026 will be the year of acceleration.
We’re moving past the stage of early adoption and into a period where value-based care becomes the standard expectation across the post-acute and long-term care landscape. In the year ahead, I believe we’ll see more operators formally entering ACOs, launching or partnering on MA SNPs, and strengthening their clinical infrastructure to ensure success.
That’s why, now more than ever, it’s so important for operators to be proactive in understanding the value they’re already creating, choosing the right partners, and taking those first – or next – steps into value-based care.
The work they do every day is at the heart of these models, and when that work is aligned with the right structures and support, it can fuel better outcomes for residents and greater stability for their organization for years to come.
This Voices article is adapted from a recent SNN Rethink podcast with Amy Kaszak and Armando Guzman of Cantex. To hear the whole episode, click here. To learn more about Curana Health, visit their website here.
