According to a recent survey analysis from Health Sector Economic Indicators by Altarum®, Americans are spending more and more money on nursing home care, year over year. Based on the nursing home health care spending in August 2023 compared to August 2022, a 10.1% increase occurred. This trend follows the previous year’s increase, which has grown since a dramatic drop at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
However, the 10% increase in spending on nursing home care doesn’t seem to translate to 10% more people needing nursing home care this year compared to last. It doesn’t even indicate that more people are spending more for better nursing home care. Instead, the researchers warned that it is most likely the result of nursing home care costs increasing nearly 11% in the last 12 months. In the same time period, home health care costs grew by 6%, which could influence more people in the future to rely on home health care for seniors rather than nursing home care.
The researchers also noted that nursing home and long-term care staffing levels remain 5% lower than they were at the start of the pandemic. Even as the need for nursing home care has increased in the last few years, staff levels have not been able to keep up with the pace. If this trend persists, the risk of nursing home abuse and neglect could increase; many incidents of nursing home abuse and neglect are tied directly to inadequate staffing levels that make it impossible for elderly residents to get the care and attention they need each day.
For more information about this recent data survey of nursing home costs and staffing levels, you can click here to read the full report from Altarum. If you need to speak to a nursing home abuse attorney about an incident that happened in a Maryland nursing home, Brown & Barron is standing by. Our law firm is dedicated to representing the wrongfully injured and neglected in nursing homes, assisted living centers, and long-term care facilities. Call (410) 698-1717 or contact us online to see if you can start a claim for justice and compensation.