Statewide Iowa — Seventeen Iowa nursing homes closed last year. Iowa Health Care Association CEO Brent Willett says all but two were in rural communities.
The Medicaid program pays for the care of over half of Iowa nursing home residents. Governor Reynolds is recommending an increase in Medicaid daily rate for nursing home care. Willett says he’s optimistic legislators will increase that reimbursement rate.
Medicaid reimbursement rate currently covers about 80 percent of the daily cost of care for a nursing home resident.
About seven out of 10 Iowa nursing homes are holding beds open as a way to deal with the staffing shortages and budget shortfalls according to a recent Iowa Health Care Association survey. In the past two years, 39 Iowa nursing homes have closed — reducing the number of nursing home beds in the state by more than 800. Facilities are required to provide 60 days notice of a closure and help residents find care in another nursing home. Willett says it means residents have had to move farther away from family and friends — and they often have to adjust to a new primary caregiver.
Nationally, 129 nursing homes closed in 2022 — 13 percent of them were in Iowa. According to the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals, two of the closed facilities are in northwest Iowa: Woodbury County’s Touchstone Health Care Community in Sioux City; and Buena Vista County’s Good Samaritan Society in Newell.
Image at top of page: Brent Willett. (IHCA photo)
