When 17 nursing homes closed in Ohio in fiscal 2023, the Ohio Health Care Association, which represents nursing homes in the state, echoed a refrain often used by the industry to explain closures and get more funding from the state: Medicaid reimbursement rates are too low and it is too hard to find staff.
It’s the same argument that the industry has made on a national scale for decades, but particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw thousands of residents die while facilities faced increased labor and supply costs.
While staffing and reimbursement issues have certainly contributed to closures in some cases, especially for smaller, rural facilities, experts say the debate often omits some important facts and nuance: specifically, that many facilities that close are poor quality, have high staff turnover and are located in areas where multiple other homes and alternatives exist, making it difficult to fill empty beds. Others turn into assisted living facilities, which are more loosely regulated. A handful were kicked off of the Medicare program for low quality.
