Kansas is forcing nursing homes to provide more details about their finances in a bid to prevent operators from falling into insolvency.
The state’s Democratic governor and Republican-controlled Legislature recently came together to adopt new requirements of providers seeking state licenses, which industry advocates support. They’re motivated after Kansas was forced to take over 22 struggling skilled nursing facilities last year, the most in recent memory, the Kansas City Star reported Tuesday.
“It gives us a better opportunity to know in advance if somebody coming in is maybe in financial difficulties,” said Rep. Brenda Landwehr (R-Wichita), who chairs the House Health and Human Services Committee. “It’s never going to solve it [completely] but there should be fewer we have to take over in the future.”
Skyline Health operated 15 of the 22 SNFs taken over by the state. When Kansas issued nursing home licenses for those nursing facilities in 2016, the New Jersey-based company had already been missing payments to vendors, owing millions in unpaid bills, the Star reported.
The new requirements were included in a package of healthcare bills signed by Gov. Laura Kelly (D) Monday. They’ll require operators to provide a detailed budget for their first year of business, and document that they have enough funds to carry out that budget. Operators also must furnish a list of all other nursing homes in which they have an ownership stake both in the U.S. and abroad. Legislators said the law change would also streamline the process for placing SNFs into receivership.
Sunflower State providers are supportive of the changes and committed to “good financial stewardship,” said Debra Harmon Zehr, president and CEO of LeadingAge Kansas.
“We would like to see more like-minded operators in our state,” she told McKnight’s Tuesday. “Raising the bar for incoming providers will be good for Kansas communities and our older citizens who require nursing home care.”
