How Does the Rising Cost of Nursing Home Care Impact Residents?
About three-quarters of Americans 65 and older will need to use a nursing home at some point, but only a small fraction will have coverage via long-term care insurance or Medicare and Medicaid to help cover the enormous and growing expense. A study published on June 20, 2019, by Georgetown University Medical Center shows:
- Nursing home prices from 2005 through 2010 consistently outpaced growth in consumer healthcare prices.
- In some states, numbers rose faster than 20 percent.
- The price of nursing homes in the U.S. can easily top $70,000 a year.
- The national median cost for all states was $6,360 monthly.
The Georgetown University researchers noted that they did find it difficult to fully understand private-pay prices due to limited reporting and accessible data (a problem in itself) but did conclude that “The significant differences in price across organizational and market structures suggest private-pay prices can be an important factor when evaluating and comparing the value of NH (nursing home) care.”
In 2018, a study led by The University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health, John H. Stroger Hospital, The Social Policy Research Institute and Illinois Citizens for Better Care found that Chicago’s for-profit nursing homes have more cases of neglect than other types of funded care facilities. The metro area of Chicago-Naperville-Elgin is home to the highest nursing home costs in the state of Illinois. Prices start at $145 per day but can max out at an astonishing $445 per day and with an average yearly cost of around $92,163.
Along with the rising costs associated with long-term care, these conclusions are likely to create a magnitude of long-term care issues related to access to staffing and resources which are linked to higher rates of resident abuse and neglect.
Intentional Understaffing, Fraud and Funding Fails Lead to Resident Neglect
Several factors go into calculating the cost of care, including location, market saturation, provider, coverage, length of stay, and whether any rehabilitation or mental health services will be required. But third-party payors and private entities are often the ones most guilty for up-charging healthcare services while shortchanging staff and resources to feed personal bank accounts. Also, healthcare fraud is alive and well in nursing homes and long-term care facilities, although entirely unacceptable in all its forms.
Meanwhile, nursing home owners and administrators blame behind the market reimbursement rates of patients on Federal Government health insurance programs to cause the industry to suffer and negatively profit, justifying their increase in operating costs.
Talk to a Lawyer About Nursing Home Concerns
Levin & Perconti is one of the nation’s most recognized and respected leaders in the areas of elder abuse and nursing home negligence and Medicare fraud litigation and settles cases throughout the city of Chicago, surrounding suburbs, and the entire state of Illinois.
If you suspect neglect or abuse of a loved one in a nursing home or fraud, please contact us now for a FREE consultation with one of our attorneys. Call us toll-free at 1-877-374-1417, in Chicago at (312) 332-2872, or complete our online case evaluation form.
Also read: Chicago Study Finds For-Profit Nursing Homes Have More Cases of Neglect