The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services is issuing recommendations for improving the safety and care of nursing home residents.
For starters, HFS wants to move to a “patient driven payment model” for reimbursing nursing homes. Medicaid Administrator Kelly Cunningham says the idea is to reward facilities for higher levels of care.
“We need to directly link any new funding to this industry to staffing and quality care improvements. In order to bring the changes we are seeking and give all residents the quality of life they deserve.”
The report also focuses on ending inequities in the nursing home system, noting that black and brown residents are twice as likely to live in a facility that is understaffed and overcrowded. Cunningham says with three to four people in a room in some cases, the pandemic hit minority residents especially hard.
