Nursing Home Closures Held Steady Despite the Pandemic But Rural Access Worsened

Chart of the Day: LDI Study Suggests Rural Nursing Homes Need More Help

August 11, 2026

By:

Joanna Kim, MPH

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Concerns about nursing home closures have risen, especially over the past decade as the COVID-19 pandemic put unprecedented strain on nursing homes. Industry groups warned that falling occupancy and worker shortages could trigger financial losses at nursing homes, which could force hundreds of facilities to close.

However, the predicted wave of nursing home closures after the pandemic did not come to pass, new evidence suggests.

LDI Senior Fellow and former Executive Director Rachel M. Werner and her colleague, Andrew Olenski, analyzed nursing home closures using CMS Provider of Services and Nursing Home Compare data. The study identified 1,440 nursing home closures from 2016 to 2025 and assessed resulting changes in access to nursing home care.

They found that overall rates of nursing home closures were stable from 2016 to 2025, averaging 0.9% from 2016 to 2019 vs 1.1% in 2020 to 2025. Some closures may have been averted by the federal government’s distribution of provider relief funds to nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, access to care worsened in rural communities. Nearly 29% of closures left communities without a nursing home within 10 miles or occurred in areas where nearby facilities could not take on displaced residents.

As the chart shows, these access shortages were worse in rural communities in the Midwest and Great Plains.

“Policymakers should consider targeted interventions, such as enhanced payments and workforce supports, that ensure that facilities serving geographically isolated communities are both financially viable and equipped to deliver high-quality care.” Olenski and Werner wrote.

The research letter, “Nursing Home Closures and Access to Long-Term Care” was published in JAMA in June 2026 by Andrew Olenski and Rachel M. Werner.