Despite fears to the contrary, Medicare’s prospective payment system (PPS) for skilled nursing facilities (SNF) has not had a significant adverse effect on nursing-home residents in Ohio, according to findings from a study by David Gifford, M.D., and Joseph Angelelli, Ph.D., at Brown University’s Center for
Gerontology and Health Care Research. There are indications, however, that the new system is affecting facility behavior in ways that might affect access and quality in the long term, including facilities’ willingness to admit high-cost patients, their ability to remain financiallystable, and changes in the level of care provided to their residents.
