Is the Nursing Home Industry Changing?

On April 13, 2023, the Centers for Medicare Advocacy asked “Is the Nursing Home Industry Irrevocably Changed?” It noted that a report, the 2023 Senior Living Industry Pulse, reported sharp declines in nursing home usage, particularly since the outbreak of COVID-19. The Certer also noted Medicare has spent more on home care than nursing home care since 2013.

Nursing home blame their current plight on their inability to hire sufficient staff. However, the Center notes “Understaffing did not start with COVID-19. Moreover, other health care providers have been able to return, largely, to pre-pandemic staffing levels as staff have returned. People don’t want to work for nursing facilities, and for multiple understandable reasons – inadequate, often poverty-level, wages for nurse aides, limited benefits, poor working conditions, lack of support, lack of respect.”