Upstate Nursing Home Organizations in Fight to Solve Financial And Staffing Issues

SARATOGA —Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner (D–Round Lake) held a press conference Jan. 24, to bring attention to the financial and staffing crises facing Upstate New York’s nursing homes. 

Woerner called for action to deliver what she called long-overdue support to the state’s nursing homes and to implement a plan that keeps this support in place to prevent a similar crisis. 

“The connection between insufficient funding to nursing homes and those facilities losing staff and available beds is crystal clear. Equally clear is what we’ve got to do to reverse this alarming decline impacting all of New York,” Woerner said, in a statement. “In this year’s state budget, I’ll fight for our nursing homes and seek a fair raise in Medicaid reimbursement rates. This crucial investment will help older New Yorkers receive the vital care they need and deserve.”

As state lawmakers prepare to craft next year’s state budget, nursing homes are asking for a 20% increase in Medicaid reimbursement rates, which have not been reexamined for 15 years nor adjusted for inflation. 

New York is home to more than 600 nursing homes. Woerner said they have faced funding issues as well as critical staffing shortages, with staff members affected by the harsh combination of overwork, burnout and stagnant wages, which have spurred many workers to find positions in other states or leave the field entirely. 

“It has been the toughest of financial times for most nursing homes in New York State over the past decade. The last three years have driven many non-profit nursing homes to the brink. Without a meaningful increase in Medicaid funding, many of us will struggle to continue to operate as we do today, impacting the entire health care system,” Brian Nealon, CEO of The Wesley Community, said in a statement. 

At Wesley Health Care Center in Saratoga Springs, Medicaid pays for nearly 75% of the residents; over the past 15 years, costs have increased by more than 42% due to inflation, and during that same period the Medicaid reimbursement rate has only increased by 1%, Nealon said.