One-star rating nursing homes in Minnesota spiked from 34 in 2019 to 64 last month, based off the Five-Star Rating System implemented by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Meanwhile, federal fines for neglectful or substandard care tripled from $2.3 million to $8.2 million in the same timeframe.
The state also has fewer nursing homes now compared to 2019, according to a report in the Minnesota Star Tribune, from 376 to less than 340. Thirty-three of the closed nursing homes shuttered because of staffing or financial pressures, or they were converted to assisted living facilities.
But Minnesota fares better than many other states, ranking 15th highest in average star ranking of its nursing homes, according to the Star Tribune. Star ratings may have worsened since 2019, but they’ve remained stable since 2023. Fines and deficiencies have subsided as well.
When all of Minnesota’s nursing homes were owned by nonprofit organizations, facilities had some of the nation’s highest quality of care rankings. Currently, for-profit owners control 30% of the state’s nursing homes, including 50% with one-star ratings.
But this association between for-profit owners and low star ratings could be more due to for-profit owners operating nursing homes that others won’t touch, the Star Tribune reported.
For-profit operator Monarch Healthcare Management, for one, acquired 44 nursing homes in the state, several of which were already poorly rated and at risk of closure when brought on; Monarch needs time to turn these properties around, CEO Marc Halpert told the Star Tribune.
As for staffing, 84 facilities in the state had to replace at least half of their nursing staff in the past year, the Star Tribune found. And federal data shows lower rates of nurses and aides per resident at for-profit facilities compared to nonprofits.
Legislators have responded to a growing need for long-term care by focusing more on home and community-based services and licensing 2,000-plus assisted living facilities, many having sophisticated medical capabilities, the report found.
Nursing home associations in the state say lawmakers need to significantly increase investment into the sector, with $300 million to prevent closures during the pandemic long gone, according to the Long-Term Care Imperative.
The organization represents two nursing home trade groups and is asking for a support plan that guarantees residents can access a nursing home within 45 minutes of their home, along with more monetary investment from the state.
Companies featured in this article:
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CMS, Minnesota Star Tribune, Monarch Healthcare Management
