State legislators are approving new rules to allow for faster redistribution of nursing facility beds after a facility closes.
South Dakota has capped the number of licensed nursing home beds in the state since the 1980s.
Department of Health Deputy Secretary Tom Martinez says the pool of beds the department can redistribute is growing. He says those beds come from facilities that have closed since 2005.
“When we first started this process I believe we had under 100 beds to redistribute—or eligible for redistribution," Martinez says. "Today, we’re sitting at over 400 beds in that pool. The idea is make the process—streamline the process—make it easy to apply for beds. Spread the net kind of wide, if there’s a provider out there that’s interested in some beds, we’re happy to consider that proposal.”
The Interim Rules Committee unanimously approved four rule changes the department says will remove barriers to requesting beds.
Seven nursing homes have closed in the state in the last three years.
South Dakota Healthcare Association Executiv Director Mark Deak says they apprecite the committee's focus on reducing regulatory burdens.
“However, the primary cause of the long term care closure crisis in South Dakota remains inadequate Medicaid reimbursement," Deak says. "Until providers are reimbursed at adequate levels, the threat of more closures will remain. Even after recent increases in reimbursement, providers still lose an average of $42.33 for each Medicaid resident per day of care. Statewide, costs of unreimbursed care total more than $48 million annually.”