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The state and federal governments have poured billions of dollars of funding into the nursing home industry in Illinois to improve staffing and quality care for residents, but the industry has failed to deliver.

The industry receives nearly $7 billion in annual revenues, mostly from state Medicaid and Medicare. The 2022 Medicaid rate reform increased the Illinois nursing home industry’s revenue by at least $670 million per year. This came shortly after increases of $240 million annually starting in 2019 and an additional $60 million in 2020.

But the industry hasn’t used this taxpayer money to improve resident care. Illinois nursing homes have consistently rated among the worst in the country in staffing and quality of care–with residents receiving 25% fewer direct care hours than the minimum required to meet their daily needs.

Instead of fully staffing homes to meet residents’ needs, too many nursing homes operators continue to divert resources away from the bedside–without transparency or accountability.

State Rep. Anna Moeller recently called out the industry for this lack of accountability: “There’s this constant back and forth: the industry asks for a ton, we give them a ton. We ask for some accountability with all of those resources we’re giving to improve patient care, to improve resident care. There’s always this pushback on doing that.”

Care can’t wait – it’s time to hold the nursing home industry accountable and ensure taxpayer dollars fund improving care for our seniors.