Nursing Home Certificate of Need Moratoria During the COVID-19 Pandemic Had Little Impact on Access.

ABSTRACT: In over half of US states, health planning boards monitor and control the supply of health care through certificate of need (CON) laws. The COVID-19 pandemic led several states to impose moratoria on CON regulations, hoping to bolster hospital and skilled nursing facility (SNF) beds. Using a difference-in-difference research design, we leverage 2015 to 2021 cost report data from SNFs to study the association between COVID-related CON moratoria and health care supply. Counties that imposed moratoria experienced a slight decline in per-capita SNF bed count. However, once adjusted for potential differential shocks in pre-pandemic high utilization counties, we find little evidence that moratoria led to increased nursing home capacity, overall or by urbanicity. In the context of nursing homes,

SUBMITTER: Yu A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11375671 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan-Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature