Washington - In releasing a new Avalere Health LLC analysis today detailing the economic and jobs output of nursing facilities in the nation's 50 most populous Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care said the growing entitlement reform discussion warrants a detailed look at the fact America's skilled nursing facility sector is a key pillar to the U.S. employment and economic base, and that Medicare funding is central to both local jobs strength and high quality patient care. The sector is the nation's second largest health facility employer, after only hospitals, and is the largest local employer in many parts of rural America.

"As the year progresses, we will continue to raise awareness of the fact America's nursing facilities are a vital pillar to local jobs and economic strength, that Medicare funding is critical to maintaining facilities' economic stability, and that increasing numbers of patients are returning home after successful rehabilitation," stated Alan G. Rosenbloom, President of the Alliance. "Localizing the significance of nursing facilities to the jobs base throughout rural, suburban and urban America will be a central component of our educational effort, in addition to detailing the fact continued improvements in patient care quality are directly related to Medicare and Medicaid funding."

To begin dramatizing at the state level the economic significance of the sector, the Alliance today launched three new Web sites for Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio to detail key economic and jobs statistics (www.FLsnfjobs.com, www.PAsnfjobs.com and www.OHsnfjobs.com). The data will be outlined at local events and in paid media in the coming weeks. Other state sites will follow.

Besides detailing the fact 70 percent of nursing facility expenditures are staffing-related, Rosenbloom noted that tightening of credit markets during the economic downturn has caused many nursing facilities to experience financial stress, and facilities often borrow funds to address cash flow issues that result from lags between service and payment. A June 2010 survey of Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care and American Health Care Association (AHCA) member facilities fielded by Avalere Health LLC found that the credit crisis had a number of significant effects: 38 percent of single-facility respondents and 29 percent of multi-facility respondents reported having less access to credit due to the downturn, and 28 percent of single-facility respondents and 46 percent of multi-facility respondents stated that obtaining credit had become more expensive.

Emil Parker, Director at Avalere Health, said, "Given that the average age of nursing facilities in the United States is 29 years, delays in maintenance may negatively affect residents' quality of life. In addition, if nursing facility physical plants cannot be maintained adequately and the sector's capacity declines as a result, some patients may have to spend more time in higher-cost acute care hospitals because of delays in transfers to nursing facilities," he said.

Nursing facilities are the leading provider of Medicare post-acute care services, treating 50 percent of all Medicare beneficiaries who are discharged from hospitals to post-acute care. The majority of patients are short-stay Medicare patients who are discharged from the hospital to the nursing facility, and need restorative and recuperative care before returning to home and their community. In the context of the entitlement reform debate, the Alliance President noted that over the past two years, the sector -- through both regulatory and budgetary actions – has already absorbed nearly $30 billion in Medicare cuts over 10 years.