The Facts
Long term care facilities are dealing with a severe and persistent workforce crisis.
A bill before the Legislature, LD 1932, will provide a 3.07% cost of living increase for direct caregivers.
Cost of living increases (COLAs) have proven to be a lifeline for long term care providers helping to recruit and retain dedicated staff by providing meaningful wage increases that keep pace with Maine’s annually adjusted minimum wage.
There have been over 50 nursing home and residential care facility closures or conversions to lower levels of care in Maine since 2014. Specifically, there have been 29 nursing home closures, with 16 since 2021 alone.
28 residential care facilities have closed since 2014.
This escalating rate of closures is happening because of low reimbursement rates coupled with record inflation levels and exploding labor costs due to too few qualified direct care workers which means a heavy reliance on expensive contract agency workers. The only solution to this problem is to increase MaineCare reimbursement rates and include a cost-of-living increase to help providers recruit more staff.
The chronic underfunding and lack of staff are crippling Maine’s ability to provide long term care services to our aging population.
Simply put, our nursing homes and residential care facilities cannot sustain the significant funding shortfalls it faces. The nursing home sector shortfall for 2022 was $96.5 million. The residential care/ assisted living shortfall in 2022 was $24.3 million. With significant federal match (.66 on every $1.00 for nursing homes) the state can leverage other resources to help address this shortfall.
Maine is the oldest state in the nation, with a significant baby boomer population that will need access to long term care. In fact, nearly 70% of older adults are likely going to need long term care services at some point during their lives.
The declining access to long term care is deeply concerning. In fact, Hancock County has no nursing homes left. Other parts of Maine are soon to follow.
These closures cause emotional distress to residents and their families and, in many cases, significantly extend travel times.
Closures also impact the whole healthcare system as many Mainers are stuck in hospitals waiting months for a long term care placement.
