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.
108 Lavaca Street, Suite 500, Austin, Texas 78701 • Kevin Warren, CEO