Albany, New York — Eleven nursing homes have shut down across New York since 2024, and nearly all of them were run by nonprofit hospital networks. Now, advocates are pushing state lawmakers to step in before more follow.
Nonprofit long-term care operators are struggling to stay afloat under Medicaid reimbursement rates they say don’t come close to covering the cost of care. A coalition of advocates is calling on the state Legislature to direct at least $750 million toward nonprofit nursing homes as part of the 2026–2027 state budget — roughly 68% more than the $445 million allocated the prior year.
The money gap is real — and growing
In communities like Jefferson County in northern New York, facilities such as Samaritan Keep Home and Summit Village skilled nursing rely on Medicaid for the vast majority of their patients. Officials at Samaritan Health told local reporters that the system’s nursing homes are “even more reliant on those Medicaid funds to care for our long-term residents” than other types of providers.
The problem isn’t unique to the north country. A separate facility in Carthage — Meadowbrook Terrace, part of the North Star Health Alliance — is already in bankruptcy proceedings, and local officials say they’re worried it won’t survive.
For many rural and small-city communities, a nonprofit nursing home is more than a care provider. It’s often one of the largest employers in town, and its loss can leave entire regions without access to skilled nursing care.
Albany is listening — but the number is still short
The New York State Senate moved to add $270 million in nursing home funding above the governor’s baseline proposal, bringing the total Senate commitment to $470 million. Governor Kathy Hochul separately proposed $1.5 billion for nursing homes and hospitals combined — but advocates argue the nursing home piece of that pie hasn’t been clearly defined.
Advocates say $750 million specifically earmarked for nursing homes is a “down payment” — not a full fix. The association representing nonprofit long-term care homes has been direct about why: the funding isn’t baked into the base Medicaid rate, which means it doesn’t carry over year after year. Without structural changes to how the state sets rates, the same crisis will return.
This isn’t only a New York problem. Advocates in other states are making the same argument, warning that Medicaid underfunding is quietly hollowing out the rural and nonprofit nursing home sector — one closure at a time.
What happens if Albany doesn’t act
The state’s budget deadline is April 1. If the Legislature fails to reach a final deal that includes meaningful nursing home investment, providers warn the wave of closures that began in 2024 will continue — and the communities losing care beds won’t get them back.
For residents already in these facilities, and for the families counting on them down the road, the math is simple: when a nonprofit nursing home closes, there’s often no replacement.
