What makes it more likely to get into the nursing home of choice?
Nursing homes do not receive the same rate of reimbursement from each resident. Instead, reimbursement generally falls into three categories: Medicare, private pay (include long-term care insurance here), and Medicaid. Medicare offers the nursing home the highest rate of reimbursement. Private pay is the second highest rate of reimbursement. Medicaid is the lowest rate of reimbursement. Accordingly, residents who are seeking placement following a hospitalization are most attractive to nursing homes. Conversely, those who will be on Medicaid are least attractive. From this perspective, it becomes clear that placement in a nursing home is best facilitated by a prior hospitalization. If there is no traumatic medical event to require a hospitalization, then entering private pay is always the next best possibility.
