When discussing the big-picture state of nursing homes in the U.S., it is important to look at who owns nursing homes.
Research indicates that for-profit and/or corporate (all of which are referred to as “proprietary”) nursing homes are associated with poorer performance than non-profit or government-owned facilities.
Nationally, 68 percent of nursing home facilities are for-profit. However, this figure varies greatly between states.
Connecticut, Rhode Island, Ohio, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, and California all have facilities in which 75 percent or more are owned by for-profit institutions.
For Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, and D.C., less than 50 percent of nursing homes are owned by for-profit institutions.
Nationally, over half of all facilities are owned by chains or corporations, meaning that large institutions, many of which are financial corporations, are shareholders in the profit-making of providing healthcare to its residents. These types of affiliated facilities are typically associated with poor staffing and lower quality of healthcare. Troublingly, chain ownership has increased in the last five years; these large institutions own more and more nursing homes as time goes on.
Medicare and Medicaid have different certification requirements, and nursing homes may qualify for either one or both. In reality, however, 95% of nursing homes nationwide are certified for both.
In 2011, Medicaid financed over 63 percent of nursing home residents. Residents who qualify for Medicaid must demonstrate that they have spent their personal savings and liquefied the personal assets in paying for care.
Additionally, 22 percent of residents paid for their healthcare cost out of pocket.
Medicare made up the remaining 14.5 percent of healthcare financing.
The distribution of how nursing home residents finance their healthcare is of particular importance because research indicates that facilities with high percentages of Medicaid-funded residents demonstrate lower qualities of care.
You can access the first three segments of our 6-part series by clicking on the stories below:
- Kaiser Foundation Overview of Nursing Facilities: Introduction (Part 1 of 6)
- Kaiser Foundation Overview of Nursing Facilities: How and Why Data is Collected for Nursing Homes (Part 2 of 6)
- Kaiser Foundation Overview of Nursing Facilities: The Current Capacity of Nursing Homes (part 3 of 6)
- Kaiser Foundation Overview of Nursing Facilities: Putting it All into Perspective (Part 5 of 6)
- Kaiser Foundation Overview of Nursing Facilities: Minnesota Nursing Homes Compared to National Average (Part 6 of 6)
The Kosieradzki • Smith Law Firm represents clients in cases involving catastrophic injury caused by nursing homes that fail to provide proper care. If you believe that you or your loved one has suffered serious harm because the nursing home failed to do its job, take action and contact the Kosieradzki • Smith Law Firm online or call us toll-free at (877) 552-2873 to set up a no-cost, no-obligation consultation.
