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Federal staffing mandate threatens care in Iowa

24 IOWA LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES HAVE CLOSED SINCE 2022

LOCAL LONG-TERM CARE IN IOWA IS AT RISK

  • Iowa nursing home closures are on the rise. 24 Iowa nursing homes have closed since 2022, the highest number of closures in a single year.
     

  • This impacts rural Iowa. All but three closures were in rural Iowa communities.
     

  • Building closures have a local impact. This resulted in reduced access to care in those communities, as these closures caused a reduction of 1,424 licensed beds.
     

  • For residents in these care facilities, it means disrupting their life to move to a new home and less access to visiting with family who live farther away.
     

  • In 2022, it cost $97,133 on average to provide care for a single nursing facility resident, and Medicaid funding covered $78,004 (or 80%) of those costs. With inflationary cost pressures, this is not sustainable.
     

  • We will see more nursing home closures if we do not act.

Clients
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It cost $97,133 on average to provide care for a single nursing facility resident.

CURRENT HEADLINES

Opinion: Biden mandates the impossible, instead of a solution for long-term care access

Des Moines Register
June 4, 2023

In this editorial, IHCA President & CEO Brent Willett shares how a proposed inoperable and unfunded federal staffing mandate for nursing homes will only worsen the current workforce crisis and threaten the very foundation of our long-term care system. Iowa nursing homes have lost thousands of workers during the pandemic, and today the sector still has 10% less workforce than pre-pandemic. Finding staff to fill open positions has been excruciatingly difficult, especially in rural Iowa.
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