Private duty nursing provider urges higher Medicaid rates to move children from hospital to home

Maxim Healthcare Services, a private provider of in‑home skilled nursing, told the Social Services Appropriations Subcommittee that Medicaid reimbursement for private duty nursing (PDN) must increase to recruit staff and allow medically fragile children to receive care at home instead of in hospitals.

Kate Morrison, who identified herself as a Maxim representative, said Maxim provides private duty nursing for children with life‑sustaining needs such as tracheostomies and ventilators. Morrison said the company is unable to fill dozens of in‑home cases and that higher rates would allow agencies to hire more RNs and LPNs and reduce prolonged hospital stays.

Morrison emphasized the cost differential between inpatient and PDN care. She said, “it’s about $35100 a day in Utah to be in a hospital, and it’s about $500 a day for home health and PDN,” and argued the state would save money if children could be discharged home with adequate nursing coverage. She also said private providers compete with hospitals, school districts and other employers and that a rate increase would help stabilize the workforce.

Committee interaction: staff and members acknowledged Morrison’s testimony and noted the broader workforce shortage in health care. Morrison identified her membership in the Home Health and Hospice Association of Utah and thanked the committee for hearing providers’ concerns. No appropriation or rate change vote occurred during this hearing.

Why it matters: PDN enables medically fragile children to live at home rather than remain in intensive care settings; reimbursement rates directly affect provider capacity and the state’s Medicaid costs. Claims about per‑day costs and savings were presented by the provider and should be reviewed against LFA and agency cost estimates when the committee considers a formal rate change.