“SNFs’ neighborhoods, Medicaid reliance linked to providers’ fiscal stress,” by Emily Mongan, McKnight’s LTC News

“The economic and racial makeup of the neighborhood where a nursing home is located plays a big role in how financially stressed it is, a new study confirms. . . . The study’s State University of New York-based authors found skilled nursing facilities in neighborhoods with a higher concentration of minorities were more likely to be fiscally stressed and have lower quality ratings than other homes.”

LTC Comment (from Stephen A. Moses, President, Center for Long-Term Care Reform):

Why do you suppose that is? SNFs in poor neighborhoods rely more heavily on Medicaid reimbursements that are less than the cost of the care. Why are Medicaid reimbursements so low for the poor? Because too many middle class and affluent people consume Medicaid’s scarce resources. Why would prosperous people opt for Medicaid if the care is so bad? They have “key money,” enough to pay privately for a while so that they can avoid the deficient SNFs in poor neighborhoods, and get into the nice places, in affluent neighborhoods, with fewer Medicaid beds. Once in they can’t be kicked out when their lawyers flip the switch converting them to Medicaid. It’s a travesty directly traceable to perverse incentives in public policy that discourage private financing and encourage Medicaid dependency.

SNFs’ neighborhoods, Medicaid reliance linked to providers’ fiscal stress

#snf
#medicaid
#goldencareagent