Medical providers and advocates are urging Maine lawmakers to increase MaineCare reimbursement rates to prevent further closures of nursing homes.
Over the past decade, more than 50 long term care facilities have closed across the state. Today, just 79 nursing homes remain.
Speaking at a news conference at the State House Tuesday, Angela Westhoff, president and CEO of the Maine Healthcare Association, said the closures are concerning because of the number of patients who rely on them for care.
“Our services are not optional, unlike a coffee shop or a restaurant, we cannot close early or take a day off in the middle of the week, staff must be present 24/7," Westhoff said.
Advocates said two thirds of nursing home residents and half of those in residential care homes are MaineCare recipients but because reimbursement rates do not cover the full cost of long term care, nursing homes are forced to pick up the rest.
In addition, staffing is also a challenge. Westhoff said reimbursement rates are not being regularly adjusted to reflect the cost of care and living, leading to facilities being unable to offer sufficient wages.
“Cost of living adjustments don't just keep pace with inflation, they help us from falling even further behind,” said Megan Welch, market operating advisor for Genesis healthcare, “They give us a fighting chance to recruit, to retain the workforce we need and to continue to provide safe and quality care.”
Michael Tyler, board chair of Maine Healthcare Association and Sandy River Company, said even when prospective staff are offered adequate pay, they are often unable to find housing and are therefore unable to work.
“If they can't live here, if there is zero housing, it almost doesn't matter what you pay them,” Tyler said.
Maine already has one of the oldest populations in the U.S. and it's a population that's growing. Westhoff said that means there is going to be a rapid decline in available beds.
For example, she said that by 2040, the number of Mainers age 75 or older, is expected to grow from 142,000 to 252,000.
“How many facilities will be left by then?" she said.
For now, more Maine families are traveling further than ever before to visit loved ones in nursing homes because of nursing home closures.
“We've seen with all kinds of closures where people, they were being able to visit their loved 10 minutes from facility. Now it's an hour, an hour and a half,” said Tyler, “We've had folks that have had to move twice. You know where a resident got moved from one facility to another one, that facility closed, then a second time.”
“It's affecting people, real people,” he said.
