Do Nonprofit Nursing Homes Perform Better Than For-Profit Nursing Homes? -Empirical Evidence in Indiana

Long term care services, especially nursing homes, are crucial elements of the healthcare system in the United States. With an increasing number of the elderly population, nursing home services have become more desirable and sought after. Proficient care in nursing homes is thus a paramount factor in ensuring the elderly population receives superior health care. Quality of care in nursing homes, in particular, attracts great attention. Linked to this, difference in quality between nonprofits and for profits nursing homes have been substantially debated for years. Compared to for-profit nursing homes, non-profit nursing homes are often thought to exhibit higher quality care. Since nonprofit nursing homes provide services that are more centered on the public needs (as opposed to profit maximization endeavors), their overall approach of care appears to be qualitatively different from for-profit and county nursing homes. This study sought to unravel the linkage between nursing home ownership (for profits, nonprofits and government-owned nursing homes) and the quality of care in the state of Indiana by taking into account the context of staffing mix. Staffing mix used include Registered Nurses (RNs), Licensed Practical Nurse (LPNs) and Certified Nurse Assistant (CNAs). The overall quality rating and staffing mix were obtained from the Center of Medicare and Medicaid database and Online Survey Certification and Reporting database (OSCAR). Preliminary analysis confirmed that nonprofit facilities perform better than for-profits. In addition, RNs’ and CNAs’ staffing hours positively contributed to the quality. The sensitivity of these results was tested in this study.http://opus.ipfw.edu/stu_symp2013/1015/thumbnail.jp