Payments made to private nursing homes for taking care of Louisiana Medicaid patients have risen substantially over the last decade, even as the occupancy rates at such facilities stayed flat, according to an audit released today.
Louisiana uses payment structures locked into state law that are out of step with other states and drive up costs on nursing homes and long-term rehabilitation facilities, Legislative Auditor Daryl Purpera’s office says.
The state Medicaid program spent $8.7 billion in federal and state dollars on nursing home care for the elderly or disabled from 2006 through 2016, as daily rates paid to about 260 nursing homes increased 54% from roughly $112 to about $172 the audit found.
Medicaid payments to the facilities reached $1 billion in the fiscal year that ended June 30.
Occupancy rates over the same period, however, “have generally remained the same,” growing by less than 1%, the review found, leading Pupera’s office to question what Louisiana received from the boost in spending.
“Even with the increasing payments to nursing facilities, Louisiana continues to rank poorly in regards to quality of care,” auditors wrote.
The skyrocketing growth in Louisiana’s spending on nursing homes comes as the state has grappled with repeated financial gaps and as Republican lawmakers have targeted spending in the Medicaid program as a place for additional scrutiny. But payments to nursing homes have certain protections in the Louisiana Constitution that make them harder to cut, and the industry is a powerful one and hefty campaign contributor at the state capitol.
