Breaking the Binary Between Funding and Transparency

Harvard researcher David Grabowski returns to the podcast to discuss the financial incentives that have created our current long-term care landscape – and how small changes to the way the federal government funds and regulates nursing homes can lead to significant improvements in quality, safety, and satisfaction. Too often, nursing home reform is presented as a false binary between increasing government funding for operators or increasing fines for wrongdoing. Organizations that have adopted Green House and Pioneer principles have shown that the equation for care improvement is more nuanced than one carrot versus one stick – but still eminently achievable with the right ingredients. HHS, CMS, HUD, and states all play a role in the patchwork quilt of nursing home finance and oversight. Grabowski, along with The Green House Project's Susan Ryan and Alex Spanko, try to untangle the knots while exploring recent efforts to effect change through rate increases, capital grants, and new rules. Transparency and proper incentives can go a long way toward achieving the change we all hope to see in LTC! Watch Grabowski's recent appearance before a House hearing on nursing homes, COVID, and private equity: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VUFu_DZzJ4 Learn more about the Moving Forward Nursing Home Quality Coalition's work to operationalize the recent NASEM recommendations for care improvement: https://movingforwardcoalition.org/committees/ Learn more about The Green House Project: www.thegreenhouseproject.org