Medicaid reimbursement in focus as Elk Point nursing home closes
Another nursing home in South Dakota will close.
Nursing home advocates point to Medicaid reimbursement as the main reason long-term care facilities’ doors are shutting.
The Prairie Estates Care Center in Elk Point will close Jan. 14. It’s the fifteenth nursing home facility to close in the last five years—the sixth in the 12 months.
A recent report shows the state is underfunding Medicaid reimbursements by $62.5 million. Medicaid covers 70 percent of costs. The report recommends a benchmark of around 90 percent. Fifty-five percent of nursing home residents rely on Medicaid to pay for care.
“My fear is if we don’t pick it up and come closer—if Medicaid can’t come closer to funding the cost of actual care we’re going to lose more nursing homes,” said Mark Deak, executive director of the South Dakota Health Care Association.
Read the full story at South Dakota Public Broadcasting here.
