This region saw 15% of its nursing homes close since 2010

Nursing home closures in New England have outpaced closures in all other Medicaid regions, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of Boston report.

The report used CMS data to determine patient counts and nursing facility closures between fiscal 2010 and fiscal 2023 in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.

It found that one-third of the region's combined Medicaid spending is dedicated to long-term care, but low reimbursement rates are leading to financial difficulties for nursing homes. 

Here are five more findings:

1. The number of nursing homes in New England states decreased 15%, or by more than 150 facilities, from 2010 to 2023.
   
   
2. Some counties in New England have seen the number of available beds in January 2024 plummeting to less than half that of fiscal 2011.
   
   
3. Maine experienced the greatest decline in nursing homes with a 19% drop from 2010 to 2023.
   
   
4. All six New England states experienced declines in nursing homes greater than the national rate from 2010 to 2023.
   
   
5. In the Boston Medicaid Region, which consists of New England, there was a 23% decline in patient count from 2010 to 2023 — the steepest drop among all 10 Medicaid regions.