Bill Targets Nursing Home ‘Oversupply’
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA proposal that would put a three-year moratorium on the construction of new nursing homes in Indiana is moving through the General Assembly. State Representative Tim Brown (R-41) says a state-commissioned study shows an “oversupply” of such facilities is using up around $24 million in annual funding that could go to other projects. The Legislative Services Agency suggests Indiana's more than 500 nursing homes have an occupancy rate of about 80 percent. The House Public Health Committee has approved the measure. It has been recommitted to the Ways and Means Committee.
Brown says the bill does not include assisted living facilities, which he says are becoming more popular among seniors. The proposal also includes an exception for developers that submitted plans to the state by March 1.
The moratorium would run through June 2018, at which point Brown says lawmakers would re-evaluate the need. He says various moratoriums have been part of Indiana law “off and on” for 25-30 years.
Our partners at The Times of Northwest Indiana report there are about three dozen nursing home projects planned in the state over the next three years, but the bill could halt some of them.
A similar plan failed to pass last year.
You can read the full bill by clicking here.
Sources: Office of Indiana Representative Tim Brown, Indiana General Assembly, The Times of Northwest Indiana