New Hampshire’s Nursing Home Industry Faces ‘Financial Ruin’

Following a national trend, nursing homes in New Hampshire are "at risk of financial ruin," as they reported a cumulative loss of nearly $18 million last year, and 60% of homes did not make enough money to "pay their bills," Foster's Daily Democrat reports. Government spending levels have contributed to nursing homes' financial problems, as federal funding has yet to reach the levels seen before the cuts implemented by the 1997 Balanced Budget Act. In addition, the state changed the way it sets Medicaid reimbursement rates earlier this month but did not boost overall nursing home funding. Meanwhile, homes are having to spend more money to keep up with increasing regulations and rising labor costs resulting from the nursing shortage. State Sen. Carl Johnson (R) plans to introduce a "stop gap" bill next year that would give nursing homes $9 million, but said he was pessimistic about the long-term prospects of the industry. "I see a lot of focus on health care for children but not the elderly. I don't see how nursing homes could continue to spend $1 and get 90 cents [in reimbursements]. That is not going to be a healthy situation for much longer," he said. The Daily Democrat reports that the state wants to divert more people from nursing homes to community-based care. Still, Douglas McNutt, Medicaid administrator for the state Division of Elderly and Adult Services, said the state has "no desire to have any [nursing homes] going out of business." So far, no widespread closures have occurred in New Hampshire, but the Daily Democrat reports that nursing homes are "hemorrhaging money" and "up to their eyeballs in debt" (Sanders, Foster's Daily Democrat, 10/21). For further information on state health policy in New Hampshire, visit State Health Facts Online.