Cost of Healthcare Outpaces Inflation
The US finds itself amidst a serious issue: healthcare rates are increasing faster than inflation, specifically in the nursing home industry where costs are rising by 4.5% compared to the 2.6% inflation rate. This is not sustainable. Healthcare is a necessity, not a luxury.
If everything else is getting more expensive, and something as necessary and fundamental as healthcare is rising in cost at nearly double the rate of inflation, how are people who were already struggling supposed to afford it?
Vulnerable populations, particularly those on fixed incomes, are disproportionately affected, as care becomes increasingly out of reach. Rising costs that far outpace inflation only deepen inequities and risk leaving the most vulnerable without essential care.
Recent policies within the nursing home industry, such as new staffing and training regulations from CMS aimed at improving care, have not played a significant role in this disproportional increase. The cost is from tunneling taxpayer funds to related entities.
This tunneling creates a significant cost that facilities often pass on to the taxpayers or residents. Adding to the strain, Republican politicians refuse to increase Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement rates, creating gaps in profit that owners are going to make back one way or another.
Healthcare employment is growing, but the benefits aren’t clear-cut. While nursing homes are hiring to meet compliance demands, wage growth remains modest, and staff often still face overwhelming workloads. Much of the employment growth appears to support administrative roles rather than direct care, which highlights how there are often inefficiencies in resource allocation.
Recent Comments