Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
As Population Ages, Communities Face Tough Choices On Supporting Local Nursing Homes
The Wall Street Journal: Municipalities Grapple With Whether Nursing Homes Should Be Taxpayer-Funded
The 11,000 year-round residents of this summer colony off Cape Cod are confronting an emotional question: whether the island is a place where they can grow old. Nantucket, a ritzy vacation destination whose permanent community is of more modest means, has one nursing home: Our Island Home, a 45-bed facility that is owned and run by the town and with a history that goes back to 1822. It sits on prime town-owned real-estate where its residents can watch boats on Nantucket Harbor. But it runs an annual deficit of about $3 million, needs major repairs and is pressuring the town’s coffers at a time when Nantucket needs other infrastructure to accommodate growth. (Levitz, 5/28)
NPR: States Attempt To Rein In Nursing Home Evictions
People complain about nursing homes a lot: the food's no good or there's not enough staff, and so on. It's a long list. But the top complaint, according to the federal government, is eviction from a nursing home. Technically, it's known as involuntary discharge, and in 2015 it brought in more than 9,000 complaints. Now, a couple of states are looking for ways to hold nursing homes accountable for unnecessary evictions. (Jaffe, 5/26)
