Marcum LLP Issues 2nd Annual Nursing Home Benchmark Study
Marcum LLP today issued its second annual nursing home benchmark study, covering the period 2014-2018. The report is produced by Marcum’s Healthcare Services Group as a strategic planning tool for long-term care providers. Marcum is a top national accounting and advisory services firm.
A Five-Year Nursing Home Statistical Analysis: 2014-2018 analyzes the state and federal cost reports filed annually by approximately 15,000 nursing homes. It covers Departmental, Revenue, and Balance Sheet analytics and includes various data reference tables. Data are presented nationally and by region.
The Marcum report is intended to be a useful reference that illustrates trends in the long-term care industry, establishes baselines, and creates pathways for operational improvements in the highly regulated and rapidly changing healthcare environment.
A topline finding from this year’s report reveals that, 10 years into the Five-Star Quality Reporting System launched by CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) in 2008, 21.69 percent of nursing homes nationally received 5-star ratings, while 18.57 percent received 1-star ratings.
On a regional basis, the Rocky Mountains region was the best performer, with the highest percentage of 5-star ratings (186 out of 573 facilities, or 32.5 percent). At the opposite end of the scale, the Southwest region received the highest percentage of 1-star ratings (511 of 1713 facilities, or 29.8 percent).
The detailed findings corroborate a CMS staffing study which found a direct correlation between staffing ratios and a nursing home’s quality of care.
“Some in the industry may consider 2018 to have been a year of gloom and doom, but at Marcum, we consider it a year of opportunity and transition. While a declining census continues to impact the industry, it also has forced providers to better micromanage operations to achieve positive results. While these results will take some time to become visible in the data, we do believe they are transitional building blocks for the future,” said Matthew Bavolack, national leader of Marcum’s Healthcare Services practice.
“The impact of 2018 is still reverberating, and in practical terms, it forced the long-term care industry to confront the imperative to shape the patient-centered operating model of tomorrow. We all lived and breathed through the passage of the Patient-Driven Payment Model (PDPM) in July 2018. We planned for it, studied the potential impacts of this first major change in Medicare reimbursement in more than two decades, and made the necessary adjustments. These included changes and operational modifications to meet the new reimbursement requirements while balancing outcomes and setting appropriate expectations. With the census beginning to level out, we’ve seen what we hope is the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s no secret that many states will continue attempting to right-size the industry, but we caution regulators. The growing aging population will present challenges for the industry as well as opportunities for the provider community to capitalize on the expanding aging demographics,” Mr. Bavolack said.
Marcum LLP’s Healthcare Services Group covers the full continuum of care, with a special focus on post-acute care geriatric services, hospitals, and physician practices. The group’s professionals are dedicated to meeting the specialized needs of healthcare companies and non-profit organizations, and providing resources to help them succeed in their businesses. Services include regulatory, operational/financial, clinical, advisory/expert testimony, assurance, and tax.
About Marcum LLP
Marcum LLP is a top-ranked national accounting and advisory firm dedicated to helping entrepreneurial, middle-market companies and high net worth individuals achieve their goals. Marcum’s industry-focused practices offer deep insight and specialized services to privately held and publicly registered companies, and nonprofit and social sector organizations. The Firm also provides a full complement of technology, wealth management, and executive search and staffing services. Headquartered in New York City, Marcum has offices in major business markets across the U.S. and select international locations. #AskMarcum.
