State Offers Medicaid Funding to Nursing Homes for Private Rooms

By Amy Stulick

Nursing homes in Ohio will soon receive financial incentives for each additional private room they offer, thanks to a proposal recently greenlit by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

The initiative, set to launch in the coming months, was developed by the Ohio Department of Medicaid and revises the reimbursement structure for Medicaid-funded nursing home rooms, according to a report from the Scioto Valley Guardian. It’s a significant step toward the state’s goal of offering a private room option to every nursing home resident.

Operators that decide to convert multi-resident rooms into private spaces, or add private rooms through new construction projects will receive additional Medicaid funding. If facilities offer private rooms with private bathrooms, they’ll receive $30 more per day while those with shared bathrooms will receive $20 more per day.

There has been movement toward private rooms at the national level as well, with the Biden Administration’s reform initiatives including a call for reduced room crowding in nursing homes. But, there hasn’t been much discussion around this aspect of the reform since it was unveiled in 2022.

Other states like Massachusetts already have mandated initiatives to de-densify nursing home rooms, offering bed buyback programs to help supplement the cost, but it wasn’t significant enough to offset financial losses. Thirty-one providers in Massachusetts last year ended up filing a lawsuit against the mandate, halting its enforcement, according to a report from Becker’s Healthcare.

The private room initiative is the latest in efforts to make significant investments and implement policy reform to improve care standards and quality of life, the Scioto Valley report found, supported by the Ohio Nursing Home Quality & Accountability Task Force.

Prior to the private room funding, the state launched Ohio Nursing Home Quality Navigator, an online tool offering detailed information about its nursing homes. The site aims to strengthen resident advocacy and facility inspections. 

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State Offers Medicaid Funding to Nursing Homes for Private Rooms