My last outlook called 2022 the “Year of Good Data,” making me officially 0-for-1 in this space. That said, I’m optimistic this year will be different, despite having underestimated how “bad data” so thoroughly infects every facet of SNF operations.
For context, industry stakeholders can’t even calculate basic performance measures that define pandemic-recovery. That’s a problem. Either way, the future of skilled nursing will be written in state capitals throughout 2023.
Medicaid relief is flowing in a handful of states and stagnating in others, but funding is only half the equation. In fact, it’s more important for long-term stability that dollars be distributed based on positional need; to allocate funds evenly across the provider community only perpetuates skilled nursing’s economic imbalance. We are already seeing brutally uneven rate increases across state lines that do little to correct fundamental inequities in government payment systems.
