The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) have released a state-by-state breakdown of the estimated cost to perform covid-19 testing for every nursing home resident and staff member in the United States just once—a nationwide total of nearly three million tests that would cost approximately $440 million.
Mark Parkinson, American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently recommends baseline testing of all nursing home residents and staff, with ongoing weekly testing of healthcare personnel, potentially pushing costs to more than $1 billion per month. According to AHCA/NCAL, such costs are unsustainable without additional funding and support from federal and state governments.
“For months now, we have been advocating for expanded and priority testing in nursing homes to protect our residents and caregivers, but this is a significant undertaking and cost for nursing homes to shoulder on their own,” says Mark Parkinson, president and chief executive officer of AHCA/NCAL. “That’s why we have asked the Department of Health and Human Services to grant our request for a $10 billion emergency relief to help fund expedited testing and the additional staffing needed to respond to this unprecedented health crisis.”
Read more from the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living.
