| In increasing numbers, senior citizens in Massachusetts are turning to assisted living or living at home with assistance, and those choices are exacerbating problems in the nursing home industry.
“There will be additional closures,” Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders told lawmakers at a fiscal year 2020 budget hearing.
One in four nursing homes have occupancy rates of 80 percent or less, which she said is “not sustainable,” and the average occupancy rate is 86 percent.
As the state’s elderly population expands, state officials need to rethink nursing home rates and come up with a long-term plan while advancing a short-term $25 million package to stabilize nursing homes, Sudders said.
Demographic trends in Massachusetts mean more and more residents are facing choices about their care as they age, or the care of loved ones. Acting Elder Affairs Secretary Robin Lipson told state lawmakers that people are outliving their ability to drive by seven to 10 years, creating mobility challenges and concerns about isolation. And Sudders said the average life expectancy in Massachusetts rose to 80 years and eight months in 2016, bucking national trends.
Meanwhile, there’s been explosive growth in assisted living, Sudders said, as older consumers take advantage of an alternative to nursing homes.
Changes in the way Medicare is covering nursing home care are also having impacts, Sudders said, creating a “perfect storm” in the industry.
In his testimony, MassHealth Director Daniel Tsai said Medicare policy changes have decreased the use of nursing homes by 25 percent and reduced funding by $300 million in Massachusetts since 2011. Additional reimbursement changes are expected in October, Tsai said.
MassHealth increased its total nursing home spending from 2015 to 2017 by 1.4 percent even as the number of MassHealth members in nursing homes decreased by 3.2 percent. And in October 2018, MassHealth added $25 million more in annual funding to support nursing homes and maintained $38.3 million in funding for direct care workers.
