SNF liability rates could rise in 2017

Overall loss rates for the long-term care industry are predicted to increase by 6 percent per year, according to the 2016 Aon/AHCA Long Term Care General Liability and Professional Liability Actuarial Analysis.

Projected Loss Rates nationally could increase to $2,350 per skilled nursing resident in 2017. Nursing homes can expect to have at least one claim per 100 beds.

The annual report identifies increases in claim frequency and severity as the primary drivers of the rising costs.

Another key expected factor will be the new ban on pre-dispute binding arbitration agreements, which the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services passed earlier this year. The American Health Care Association was granted an injunction in October to put the ban on hold, but should the ban go forward, it could have a serious effect on providers’ liability costs.

“Historically, AHCA has promoted best practices for arbitration, recommending voluntary agreements that are set apart from the admission document and that include rescission language,” the liability report notes. “Providers are facing another challenge to managing liability costs if arbitration is no longer available.”

Pamela Tabar

Pamela Tabar was editor-in-chief of I Advance Senior Care from 2013-2018. She has worked as a writer and editor for healthcare business media since 1998, including as News Editor of Healthcare Informatics. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Kent State University and a master’s degree in English from the University of York, England.