It’s scary getting older, isn’t it? 😰 One day you’re out clubbing and the next, you throw your back out tying a shoe. If you see us with velcro sneakers, it’s a style statement, OK? 👟
Speaking of getting older, many folks rely on nursing homes to care for aging loved ones. In the Buckeye State, a funding miscalculation could result in a major repayment to facilities statewide. 💵
Here’s Five Fast Facts on Ohio’s nursing home issues:
- 🥴 Billion Dollar Blunder - Ohio could be on the hook to pay state nursing homes big time. A recent state Supreme Court decision discovered the Buckeye State underpaid top nursing homes as much as $1 billion. However, the state’s pushing back and wants a deeper dive into the math.
- 💵 Rate Rules - Today, Ohio has over 900 Medicaid-certified nursing homes responsible for the care of 66,000 people. Right now, Medicaid covers the bills for 65% of those residents. To afford those costs, Ohio pays each facility a daily rate per resident. That daily rate has two factors: a direct care rate and a “quality incentive rate” for homes who provide higher-quality care.
- 🧮 Mumbled Math - Ohio recalculates the daily rate every couple of years to keep everything up to date. In those recalculations, payments typically grow to cover costs. However, nursing homes say the math was way wrong. According to them, Ohio left them short by roughly $527 million in the 2024–2025 budget and about the same in this current budget.
- ⚖️ Judgment Day - Earlier this month, the Ohio Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of nursing homes, agreeing that the math wasn’t mathing. However, it didn’t quite specify whether or not the state has to make back payments.
- 💰 Money Maker - If Ohio is indeed on the hook for making nursing homes whole, they’re going to need to come up with a butt ton of cash. Some officials say Medicaid could use their reserve funds to foot the bill, but that money might already be marked for different budget gaps. Other officials suggest tapping Ohio’s $3.8 billion rainy day fund.
🔥Bottom line: A billion smackeroos is a lot of money. However, when nursing homes go underfunded, loved ones and their families ultimately pay the price. Need help getting your money matters in order? A financial advisor might be the answer. Check out this article for tips on how to find the best one.
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