In a review of how skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) fared during the now-completed Utah legislative session, Jay Gormley in his latest weekly newsletter said the results “ended up pretty positive for SNFs.”

Gormley, the chief investment officer and COO, Advisory, Zimmet Healthcare Services Group, said this result wasn’t assured at the outset of the session given that long-term care services were among the areas proposed for budget reductions.

“Through the course of the budget process, however, stakeholders and policymakers were able not only to remove these programs from the list of proposed cuts, but also to secure targeted funding increases for nursing facilities, Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ICF/IIDs), and the state’s assisted living waiver program,” he said, noting the work of the Utah Health Care Association in this success.

Here are the highlights, according to Gormley:

• Modest Medicaid Rate Increase Approved. The Utah Legislature approved additional funding for nursing facility Medicaid reimbursement through the state budget process, including roughly $3 million in ongoing state funding. With federal Medicaid matching funds, this translates into a somewhat larger total increase in reimbursement available to nursing facilities and intermediate care facilities.
  
  

• Creation of a Framework for Future Medicaid Rate Updates. Legislation adopted during the session established a structure allowing periodic Medicaid provider reimbursement adjustments tied to state fiscal conditions. While not specific to SNFs, the framework allows long-term care providers to receive future rate updates as part of broader Medicaid funding adjustments.
  
  

• Continuation of the Nursing Facility Quality Incentive Program. Utah continues to fund a nursing facility quality incentive payment program, which provides supplemental payments to facilities that meet certain quality benchmarks. For Fiscal Year 2026, the program includes payments of approximately $643 per Medicaid-certified bed, added to base Medicaid rates.
  
  

• Provider Assessment and Supplemental Funding Mechanisms Remain in Place. Utah continues to finance portions of its Medicaid long-term care program through a nursing facility bed assessment of roughly $28 per patient day, which helps generate federal Medicaid matching funds. These provider assessments remain an important component of the sector’s overall reimbursement structure. “Taken together, the recent legislative actions reflect Utah’s continued approach of incremental funding adjustments rather than large structural rate rebasing, relying on targeted increases, quality incentives, and supplemental funding mechanisms to support the nursing facility sector,” Gormley said.

Questions or comments? Contact Patrick Connole at pconnole@parkplacelive.com.