July 29, 2022 Washington, DC — A statement from Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO, LeadingAge, the association of nonprofit providers of aging services, including nursing homes, on the release of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) 2023 Skilled Nursing Facility Final Rule:

“We warned CMS that this is not the time to cut payments. It’s deeply disappointing that CMS chose to include the parity adjustment in today’s final rule. Spreading the impact of the adjustment over two years (2.3% in FY 2023 and 2.3% in FY 2024) is helpful, but the end result adds to the chronic financial neglect of our nations’ nursing homes—in a time of real crisis.

Access to quality nursing home care is increasingly threatened for today’s older adults and families. Inflation-induced increases in operating costs, staff shortages and recruitment and retention issues in a tight labor market,  insufficient support from policymakers—and now payment reductions—put much-needed 24/7 nursing homes care out of reach for far too many in this country.”

Recent comments from LeadingAge nursing home members:

•  “Any further cuts bring us to a question of whether skilled nursing care will truly be sustainable in many communities. South Dakota has had four nursing homes announce this year that they are closing, and it’s highly likely there will be more doing the same. In a rural state with great distances between communities and aging sector resources, that has a huge, sometimes devastating impact on individuals in need of services and their families.” —Deb Paauw, Executive Director of Quality and Data Integration, Avera, Sioux Falls, SD

   

• “Nothing has gone down [in price]: personal protective equipment, food, other supplies…. Wages are way up. [The Biden Administration] needs to understand that the hourly wage of staff is through the roof… It is killing us. It’s all about being able to care for our community. Without being able to hire staff, we can’t do that.” —Joel Smith, Health Services Administrator, BayView Life Plan Community Seattle, Seattle, WA

We represent more than 5,000 nonprofit aging services providers and other mission-minded organizations that touch millions of lives every day. Alongside our members and 38 state partners, we use applied research, advocacy, education, and community-building to make America a better place to grow old. Our membership, which now includes the providers of the Visiting Nurse Associations of America, encompasses the continuum of services for people as they age, including those with disabilities. We bring together the most inventive minds in the field to lead and innovate solutions that support older adults wherever they call home. For more information visit leadingage.org.