Texas nursing homes are in trouble and this is one crisis we can avoid.
At $6 an hour, the state pays nursing homes less to care for an aging Texan than a kid can make mowing yards after school.
As some senior Texans near the end of their life, they don’t have a nest egg to pay for their care when they can no longer care for themselves.
They are our parents, family members and friends.
They were carpenters, nurses, fire fighters, and teachers. They may have chosen a path that didn’t make them wealthy, but they made our state richer.
They cared for Texas. They raised Texas. Don’t they deserve better from Texas?
This legislative session, Texas leaders can show them they are still a priority.
Let’s make sure senior Texans know they still matter.
Based on the Texas Health and Human Services Budget for FY2020-2021, the state is currently underfunding the nursing facility program by almost $1 billion over the biennium.
More than 70%
At Risk for Closure
A growing number of nursing homes across Texas are operating at levels that place them at risk for closure and displacing loved one’s from their families.
Texas Nursing Homes
Closed & At-Risk For Closure
268 At-Risk Nursing Homes
32,891 At-Risk Nursing Home Bed Capacity
Underfunded and Overworked
Texas nursing homes struggle with one of the highest annual staff turnover rates in the country making it difficult, if not impossible, to consistently provide the level of care our loved ones deserve.
Source: 2015 Preliminary Cost Report
Declining Quality of Care
State payments to nursing homes have failed to cover the cost of care for almost two decades and the gap is widening.
The chronic underfunding has taken a toll. Texas has more one-star nursing homes than any other state in the nation. According to CMS five-star rating system, Texas nursing homes rank last among the states in quality of care provided.
Not Prepared for the Silver Tsunami
A perfect storm is set to hit nursing homes as a surge in the number of aging Texans, known as the Silver Tsunami, is projected to affect long term care services across the state.
According to the Texas Demographic Center, the over-65 population across the state is projected to more than double by 2030 and increase by more than 262 percent by 2050.
SB 1050/HB 3342 – Texas Nursing Home Quality Act (NHQA):
A Solution to the State’s Long Term Care Funding Crisis
100% of new funding provided is dedicated to improving the quality of care
in Texas nursing homes
Does not add to the state budget
Does not expand Medicaid
44 other states have similar programs in place to improve their nursing homes. TEXAS DOES NOT.
50% Dedicated to Infrastructure and Process
Wages and benefits
Direct care services to improve quality of care and resident experience
Renovations and improvements to create home-like environment
Technology and equipment upgrades
50% Dedicated to Meeting Quality Outcomes
CMS Five-Star Quality Measures
Staffing enhancement initiatives
Alzheimer’s, dementia and obesity care
How the NHQA Works
- Funding similar to 44 other states and the District of Columbia
- Addresses long term care needs without costing the state budget
- Exempted Facilities:
- State Veterans Homes
- Continuous Care Retirement Communities
- Non-profit
- For every $1.00 committed, the state will receive approximately $2.50 from the federal government to support Texas nursing homes.
NHQA would bring federal funding Texans have paid in taxes that other states are using to improve long term care.
For every $1 Texans send to Washington, the federal government keeps 35 cents… Texas currently receives 65 cents back.
Compare that to South Carolina, which receives more than $3.05 for every dollar it sends, Alabama at $2.60, and Indiana at $2.25.
Source: Wallet Hub
Legislative advertising paid for by the Texas Health Care Association
108 Lavaca Street, Suite 500, Austin, Texas 78701 • Kevin Warren, CEO