Top Trends That Will Shape the Skilled Nursing Sector in 2024

Margins squeezed by interest rates and inflation, staffing shortages amid a draconian staffing mandate proposal, an invasion of Medicare Advantage and mixed efforts at adapting to Minimum Data Set (MDS) changes are among a litany of the challenges facing the skilled nursing sector at the start of 2024. However, all is not doom and gloom […]

Legislation That Mattered to Long-Term Care in 2023: A State and National List

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the majority of nursing home legislation introduced or passed this year had to do with staffing. At the national level, Congressional efforts to block the federal minimum staffing proposal gained steam at the end of the year. State legislation ran the gamut, with California raising the minimum wage to $25 per hour for […]

PwC: Cautious Optimism, Apprehension To Follow Nursing Home Dealmaking into 2024

Dealmaking in 2024 comes with cautious optimism and some apprehension from industry leaders in health care, including those in the nursing home space, as deal volume continues to be buffeted by macroeconomic headwinds.  In line with the skilled nursing space, overall health services deal volumes through Nov. 15 have declined 13% compared to 2022 levels, […]

The Quotes That Defined 2023 in Skilled Nursing — and Hint at What’s Ahead

As the Covid-19 public health emergency officially ended in 2023, the nursing home sector continued to face lingering troubles across many facets of the business even if spread of disease – and death resulting from it – diminished as a concern. Chief among troubles that continued to plague nursing homes included workforce shortages and expansion […]

Comprehensive Healthcare Legal Saga Culminates in Acquittal of Individuals, Guilty Verdict for Corporate Defendants

Pennsylvania operator Comprehensive Healthcare Management Services was found guilty in a sprawling health care fraud case, following a five-week federal trial in Pennsylvania, involving two of its facilities. Brighton Rehabilitation and Wellness Center and Lebanon Rehabilitation and Wellness Center were found guilty of making false statements in connection with the payment of health care benefits […]

Closing the Medicaid Gap Is Just the First Step, as Nursing Homes Fight for Predictable Reimbursement

Nursing homes and the state associations that represent them continue to put pressure on legislators to match Medicaid rates with rising costs, and change how often rebasing occurs to give operators a more even playing field. In a lot of cases, Medicaid increases helped lessen the gap between costs and stagnant rates. But, legislators still […]

‘Tougher Every Day’: Nursing Home Operators, CCRCs Weigh in on Future of Skilled Nursing

Operating a skilled nursing facility today is considered a difficult business with regulations and reimbursement woes making the space “tougher every day.” As a result, some operators say they regularly budget a loss for skilled nursing services, and if it weren’t for other lines of business, skilled nursing would be unsustainable. This dire view of […]

Repositioning Nursing Homes For Acuity, More Closures, Less Deal Making Expected in 2024

As the skilled nursing industry heads toward a new year with continued labor shortages and reimbursement gaps, service repositioning and closures among operators are expected trends for the space. And although there are signs of positivity in the form of increased Medicaid reimbursement in some states, extensive rural closures are creating “nursing home deserts” and […]

LeadingAge CEO Calls Out Political Inaction on ‘Dangerously Broken’ Nursing Home Funding System

Decades-long underfunding of nursing homes continues to create unnecessary hardships for aging Americans as access issues deepen. And yet, attempts to change the current financial system have fallen on deaf ears. In an effort to get the attention of lawmakers in Washington, LeadingAge President and CEO Katie Smith Sloan took aim with this view at […]

OIG’s Audit of Nursing Home Workers in Louisiana Finds Flaws in Background Check Process

A federally commissioned report released Wednesday found that nursing homes in Louisiana failed to complete background checks on a portion of their non-licensed employees. In conducting the audit to examine whether Louisiana nursing homes complied with federal requirements for backgrounds checks, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) chose a sample of 9 Louisiana nursing homes […]

Bipartisan Legislation Aims to Block CMS Staffing Proposal – Most Recently With Senate Bill

Legislation to block the nursing home minimum staffing proposal gained major traction this week, as a bill introduced on the Senate floor late Tuesday received more bipartisan support. Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) led the way with the Protecting Rural Seniors’ Access to Care Act, which aims to stop the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services […]

Nursing Homes Must Advocate for Medicaid Increases, as States Work En Masse to Rebase Rates

The past year or two have seen big wins in terms of increased Medicaid funding for nursing homes – a welcome relief as the sector faces staffing shortages amid a looming minimum staffing proposal, higher inflationary costs and rising acuity of resident needs. The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) […]

‘Operating Pressures Are Very Intense’: Ohio Living CEO on Skilled Nursing Strategy and Mega-Trends

Operational pressures continue to shape the landscape of the skilled nursing sector as many organizations with assets across the care continuum are divesting nursing homes in favor of other service lines. Responding to pressures from staffing and low reimbursements, Ohio Living decided to act “proactively” and downsize its skilling nursing segment while growing its services […]

Building off Its Annual Nursing Home List, Newsweek Unveils CCRC Rankings

As patient preference continues to shift away from nursing homes, public attention is increasingly on alternate modes of skilled nursing care as well, including continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs). Newsweek, for one, came out with a ranking of such communities in partnership with global market and consumer data firm Statista. The companies expect rankings to […]

Legislation to Block CMS’ Nursing Home Staffing Mandate Gaining Steam Among Senators

Companion legislation to block the nursing home minimum staffing proposal is due to be introduced next week by Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) – more co-sponsors are anticipated, delaying the bill’s introduction to some time next week. That’s according to Sen. Fischer’s office. It’s a good delay to have, a spokesperson said in an email to […]

How Medicaid Waivers Have Affected Nursing Home Utilization – And Why the Staffing Proposal May Further This Trend

One of the unintended consequences of the minimum staffing proposal may mean less utilization of nursing homes as residents are shifted to other means of care – a trend spurred by an expanded use of Medicaid waivers. Policymakers may opt for these as a safety net for access issues among seniors, especially in rural settings, […]

Ignite CEO Focuses on Solutions, Growth Amid ‘Punitive, Vindictive’ Surveys, Managed Care Pressures

From managed care burdens and “punitive, vindictive surveys,” to threats posed by the potential federal staffing mandate and issues stemming from the “radically broken” Five Star rating system, Ignite Medical Resorts CEO Tim Fields is well aware of the many challenges facing skilled nursing providers. But as Ignite celebrates its fifth year as a company […]