{"id":112780,"date":"2025-08-02T10:57:12","date_gmt":"2025-08-02T10:57:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/112780\/"},"modified":"2025-08-02T10:57:12","modified_gmt":"2025-08-02T10:57:12","slug":"some-georgia-nursing-homes-at-risk-of-closure-from-medicaid-cuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/112780\/","title":{"rendered":"Some Georgia nursing homes at risk of closure from Medicaid cuts"},"content":{"rendered":"

The nursing home industry is one of several swaths of the health care sector that could see massive upheaval under \u201cThe One Big, Beautiful Bill Act,\u201d championed and signed into law<\/a> recently by President Donald Trump. <\/p>\n

A report from researchers at Brown University\u2019s School of Public Health concluded that dozens of nursing homes in Georgia \u2014 and hundreds more nationwide \u2014 could be at an elevated risk of closure because of the Medicaid cuts in the bill. <\/p>\n

ExploreHow will the \u2018big, beautiful bill\u2019 impact Georgia?<\/a><\/p>\n

One of the entries on the list: Warrenton Health and Rehab. <\/p>\n

Some nursing home advocates scoffed at the findings. Others said quietly they are on target. Most did not respond to questions from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, including Warrenton Health and Rehab.<\/p>\n

Medicaid, the government health care program for the poor, is often thought of as focused on children. <\/p>\n

But it has grown to serve 17 million people nationally aged 50 and older, and is the backbone of the nation\u2019s nursing home system. In Georgia nursing homes, more than 70% of patients pay their room and board through the program, according to the Georgia Health Care Association. <\/p>\n

Budget analysts say there is a $964 billion hit coming to Medicaid funding, and researchers say those cuts are almost certain to eventually be consequential for the nursing home industry.<\/p>\n

The impact on nursing homes isn\u2019t a result of direct cuts in <\/b>the <\/b>tax and spending package <\/b>\u2014 the industry was largely left alone. But hospitals <\/b>took direct cuts and, in addition, researchers say millions of Affordable Care Act<\/a> and Medicaid insurance recipients are at risk of losing coverage because of work requirements and red tape. <\/p>\n

ExploreGOP House bill lays groundwork for thousands of Georgians to lose insurance<\/a><\/p>\n

Those cuts, along with the resulting decreases in hospital funding<\/a>, will ultimately mean states will have to cover the losses, analysts say.<\/p>\n

All of that will have a trickle-down effect on nursing home funding, according to the Brown researchers.<\/p>\n

In Georgia, the spending law\u2019s impact on nursing homes is more likely to be felt in small, largely rural counties like Warren \u2014 where nearly one-quarter of the population is over the age of 65, and a similar percentage lives in poverty \u2014 according to the analysis.<\/p>\n

Dr. Vincent Mor, <\/b>a professor of health services, policy and practice at Brown who co-authored the study, said in an interview that he expects there will still be enough beds across the state for Medicaid patients, even if some facilities close. But even that has consequences. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re 80 plus, 85 plus, and you\u2019re going to need that hospital and nursing home, you\u2019re now going to have to go a long way to it, and that means your kids are going to have to drive\u201d to visit, Mor said. About one in 25 rural households has no car<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And within a nursing home, \u201cit will be that much more difficult for the staff that are there,\u201d said Mor. \u201cAnd for some places that becomes kind of a death spiral.\u201d <\/p>\n

The changes are happening at a time of massive demographic shifts: The nursing home population is expected to begin spiking in the next few years, as the oldest Baby Boomers begin to enter their 80s. <\/p>\n

Georgia nursing homes on the list<\/p>\n

The Brown study, commissioned by Senate Democrats, used data from 2011 to 2023 in determining the nursing homes that are at the highest risk of closure from the trickle-down effects of the new law. <\/b><\/p>\n

The researchers singled out three factors they said had historically been associated with closures: relatively low occupancy rates, poor federal quality ratings and having at least 85% of residents receiving Medicaid assistance. The most recent full data set available was as of 2023.<\/p>\n

More than three dozen Georgia homes are on the list. Ten of the homes have since improved their quality ratings enough to fall off, according to further AJC analysis. The newspaper reached out to all 27 of the facilities that remained, including five facilities in metro Atlanta, and few responded to interview requests. <\/p>\n

The data says only that the homes are at risk of closure, Mor said. But many were already walking a financial tightrope even before the bill passed, and Brown\u2019s data predict the Medicaid changes will about <\/b>double the risk of closures. <\/p>\n

When the AJC could not reach one of the homes by telephone, a reporter visited and found the facility had already closed in recent months, bringing the Georgia list down to 26.<\/p>\n

\"Healthcare<\/p>\n

Credit: Ariel Hart<\/p>\n

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Credit: Ariel Hart<\/p>\n

Neil Pruitt, CEO of Georgia\u2019s giant nursing home company PruittHealth, says the list is bunk. Two of the 64 facilities his company owns in Georgia, in Marietta and Monroe, are included. <\/p>\n

\u201cObviously the bill is going to create pressure on state Medicaid programs\u201a\u201d Pruitt told the AJC. But when it comes to which nursing homes may close, he said, \u201cI\u2019m not quite sure how they\u2019re getting their methodology, because it doesn\u2019t align with our internal metrics.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems pretty political to me,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not even on our radar, nor have we ever thought about closing those centers.\u201d<\/p>\n

One longtime administrator in Middle Georgia, whose facility is on the list, was candid about her concern. Many of her residents were transferred from urban hospitals about an hour away, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re barely making it now,\u201d said the administrator, who asked that her name not be used to avoid rattling residents and the surrounding community. \u201cWe praying, that\u2019s what we doing. It\u2019s just scary and disheartening.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leaders from one of the metro Atlanta facilities on Brown\u2019s list, Sadie G. Mays Health & Rehabilitation Center in Southwest Atlanta, insisted their nursing home \u201cis in no imminent danger of closing.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been serving this community for over 78 years, and we plan to be here for the next 78 years,\u201d Board Chairman Samuel W. Bacote III and Executive Director Gerri Cooper said in a statement. \u201cOver the years, Sadie G. Mays has had to deal with numerous changes to the Medicaid program. As always, we are making strategic decisions to deal with any changes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The nursing home industry\u2019s state advocacy group, the Georgia Health Care Association, said the Brown report was generated by looking at an earlier version of the bill, before the industry won a major battle to quash a suggested direct cut. The Brown researchers say the findings still hold true because of the overall trickle down effect.<\/p>\n

Patients at risk too<\/p>\n

Mor, the Brown professor, predicted a death spiral for the finances of some nursing homes. But patients may be at risk, too, from potential staff shortages or from having to move, say other <\/b>researchers and people who work with nursing home residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to think about those older adults that are sitting in beds, that are waiting for a nurse, that are waiting for a meal,\u201d said Dr. Ethlyn McQueen-Gibson, a Virginia-based professor and researcher who is president of the Southern Gerontological Society. \u201cThat\u2019s somebody\u2019s aunt, that\u2019s somebody\u2019s grandmother.\u201d<\/p>\n

If nursing homes close, residents <\/b>could be forced to move to new facilities farther from family and friends. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s especially a problem because nursing homes chronically find it difficult to hire enough staff, and family visits become important supports. As of last year, nearly 20% of nursing homes had already closed a unit, wing or floor because of labor challenges, according to the nursing home group the American Health Care Association. <\/p>\n

Rachel Werner, executive director of the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics at the University of Pennsylvania, said family and friends often serve as \u201can invisible workforce\u201d performing services that are supposed to be handled by staff. <\/p>\n

In Southeast Georgia\u2019s Clay County, Dr. Karen Kinsell for years was the only doctor. In her observation, the ability of family to visit, \u201cis the No. 1 predictor of how well you\u2019re going to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s particularly true if staffing is low, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey know what your \u2018normal\u2019 is,\u201d Kinsell said. \u201cSo, your family visiting, both for your mental health and the ability to notice if something\u2019s screwed up, is real critical.\u201d <\/p>\n

Andrew Olenski, a researcher at Lehigh University, is studying the issue. He said the effects of moving are likely to vary from patient to patient, nursing home to nursing home. <\/p>\n

\u201cOlder and frailer residents, as well as residents in rural areas with few other providers, appear to experience only the mortality risk increase\u201d from moving, Olenski said. Those who are physically robust may actually live longer, if with less family support.<\/p>\n

And in a big win for the industry, Congress suspended an unfunded minimum staffing <\/b>mandate that had been enacted by the Biden administration.<\/b><\/p>\n

But Medicaid cuts to hospitals and reductions to other parts of the health system will indirectly increase the strain on nursing homes, said the Brown researchers. Medicaid requires states to pay for residents\u2019 room and board \u2014 but it doesn\u2019t make it mandatory to pay a sustainable amount. The Brown researchers\u2019 bet as inflation rises, some states will not increase <\/b>pay enough to keep residents in their beds. <\/p>\n

\"Willie<\/p>\n

Credit: Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution<\/p>\n

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Credit: Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution<\/p>\n

Then there is Washington\u2019s broader crackdown on immigrants, even people who work here legally. Deke Cateau, CEO of A.G. Rhodes, which operates several nursing homes in Atlanta, said immigrants make up 35% of the staff at his company\u2019s facilities, none of which are on Brown\u2019s list. Those workers would be hard to replace, Cateau said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s another huge pain point,\u201d Cateau said.<\/p>\n

Hoping for a state bailout<\/p>\n

Cateau said the new law moves resources away from the changing demographics. But he hopes the state will step up.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, the bright side is, I will say that our state\u2019s Governor and legislature \u2014 on the whole, especially the last few years \u2014 have really worked hard to protect elders in our nursing homes through the Medicaid program,\u201d Cateau said.<\/p>\n

Still unclear is whether the Republicans who control Georgia\u2019s purse strings will be willing to make up for the billions in federal funding Georgia\u2019s state health programs are projected to lose as a result of the new law. <\/p>\n

Left-leaning organizations, such as the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, say that\u2019s exactly what the state should do. They point to the state\u2019s massive surplus. <\/p>\n

But that\u2019s not sustainable and unlikely to happen, say GOP leaders.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe as a state cannot backfill all these federal funds,\u201d said Georgia House Appropriations Chairman Matt Hatchett, R-Dublin, who oversees the budget process. \u201cBut we\u2019ll do what we can, and that hopefully will help prepare entities, you know, to get better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nursing home lobbyists are sure to fight hard for those state funds.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reality remains that Medicaid is underfunded, and there are limited resources available to meet the growing demand for care,\u201d Clif Porter, president of the American Health Care Association nursing home advocacy group, said in a statement the day the bill passed. \u201cAny reduction in resources within the overall care continuum cannot be taken lightly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brown University\u2019s Mor believes that over years, a state like Georgia is going to stop raising Medicaid payment rates enough to keep up with inflation \u2014 essentially delivering its own cut in addition to the reductions on order now. It\u2019s either that, spend more, or further cut down the number of people on the Medicaid rolls.<\/p>\n

\u201cStates are going to face this terrible choice,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

AJC staff writer Michelle Baruchman contributed to this story.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The nursing home industry is one of several swaths of the health care sector that could see massive…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":112781,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[210,1141,1142,3170,71285,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-112780","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health-care","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-health-care","10":"tag-healthcare","11":"tag-medicaid","12":"tag-national-register-of-historic-places","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114958817591153516","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112780"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112780\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}