2 Pittsburgh-area nursing homes closing, citing discrepancy in Medicaid reimbursement rate

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Two local nursing homes will soon close, but both say the reason is preventable. They're citing a huge discrepancy in the Medicaid reimbursement rate, which makes it impossible to keep the doors open.

The Pittsburgh Skilled Nursing and Rehab Center in Shadyside and Vincentian Marian Manor in Pittsburgh's Banksville neighborhood are closing. 

"With both nursing homes combined, we're looking at about 400 licensed beds, we're looking at hundreds of caregivers, and obviously the question is, where do these folks go?" said Zach Shamberg, the president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Health Care Association. 

Shamberg says inadequate Medicaid reimbursements are to blame, forcing these nursing homes to operate every day in the red until they can't. Facilities say their daily costs are climbing but their reimbursements are stagnant. 

"We are 30 days away from the state budget deadline in Pennsylvania. If these two closures don't send a clear message to the Shapiro administration and to elected leaders in the House and Senate, Republicans and Democrats, then I don't know what will, because we've got an access to care crisis, not just in the city of Pittsburgh, but across the state." 

For regular people in need of care or for caregivers with aging parents, it means a lack of options close by or waiting lists that drag on and on. 

"Many family members will ask: 'Where do I take my loved one? Will I be forced to travel hundreds of miles away? Will I be forced to travel out of state just to find care?' Those are not questions that we should be asking ourselves in one of the oldest states in the entire country," Shamberg said. 

Shamberg says the fastest growing demographic in the state of Pennsylvania is age 80 and older. 

"In just five years, the number of Pennsylvanians 65 and older will be the same, and then eclipse the number of Pennsylvanians 19 and younger. This is not just a problem that will affect us today. It's a problem that will affect us for the next five to 10 to 15 years." 

KDKA-TV reached out to Shapiro's press team for comment on Shamberg's statements or any insight into if they plan to address this issue in the upcoming budget but did not hear back by newstime.