Funding Challenges Continue to Have Devastating Impact on Long Term Care
SIOUX FALLS, SD, November 21, 2022 -- Another South Dakota nursing home is closing its doors. Prairie Estates Care Center in Elk Point has announced its upcoming closure as of January 14, 2023. The closure is due to a combination of the ongoing underfunding of Medicaid, the current staffing crisis, and costs related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the addition of this closure, more than twelve percent of licensed nursing facilities in South Dakota will have closed their doors in the last five years. Other recent closures include centers in Armour, Salem, Lennox, Clear Lake, Ipswich, Custer, Hudson, Sioux Falls, Huron, Madison, Mobridge, Tripp, Bryant, and Rosholt.
“Unfortunately, nursing home closures are a story we have seen all too often. Between longstanding Medicaid underfunding, the ongoing staffing crisis, and costs from COVID, nursing homes are facing unprecedented pressures,” said Mark B. Deak, Executive Director of the South Dakota Health Care Association (SDHCA). “When closures occur, South Dakota communities lose access to a vitally important service for the elderly and disabled.”
South Dakota’s Medicaid reimbursement rates are below those of all our neighboring states. A recent report indicated the statewide costs of unreimbursed care totaled $62.5 million. A significant majority (55%) of the total resident population in nursing homes relies on Medicaid to pay for their care. In addition to the closures, this disparity fuels staffing challenges, including difficulty hiring caregivers and high turnover among nursing home staff.
While emergency support funds from federal and state sources have helped nursing homes keep their doors open through the worst of the pandemic, many long term care providers continue to face a tremendous fiscal crisis. Improving ongoing Medicaid reimbursement is the most important step that can be taken to stop the closure crisis.
“Our aging parents, grandparents, and other loved ones expect and deserve access to nursing care near their family and friends. Lawmakers must take action if we hope to prevent even more closures in the months and years to come,” Deak said.
