Utah
Utah’s Medicaid agency and its state plan are the official source for these rules. This page summarizes them as researched in October 2026; check the state’s own documents, listed under Sources, before relying on them.
At a glance
- Rate method
- Statewide price
- Case-mix level
- Facility average
- Classification
- PDPM
- Rate updates
- Quarterly
- Managed care (LTC)
- Short stays only
- Quality program
- Quality Improvement Incentive (QII)
- Paid outside the rate
- Large
- Bed hold
- Leave only
- Published rates
- Rates and build‑ups
- Assisted living
- Limited
- Personal needs allowance
- $45 / month
Overview
- Utah pays every nursing home the same statewide prices, adjusted only for case mix and property.
- The per diem = (1) a case mix component: a statewide dollar base ($111.09 for 10/1/2026) x the home's normalized Medicaid case-mix index;
- (2) a flat rate component identical for all homes ($114.16/day for SFY2027, covering admin, plant, dietary except raw food, laundry, housekeeping, activities); and (3) a property component: fair rental value plus a pass-through of real property tax and insurance.
- The Legislature sets the yearly inflation increase.
- For 10/1/2026 the 84 listed homes average $249.19/day (median $248.45, range $226.24-$295.83) before resident-specific add-ons, quality incentives and the large county/hospital-district UPL payment.
What matters in Utah
- Posted rates average $249/day, but 76 of 84 homes also get UPL payments averaging $169 per Medicaid day.
- Rural hospital districts and counties hold the licenses of 76 homes; one rural hospital district alone holds 44.
- Rate = statewide case-mix base x home's case-mix index + $114.16 flat rate + fair rental value property.
- Since 7/1/2026 therapy and non-emergency transport are inside the per diem, aligned with Medicare's PDPM.
- The $28.15 provider tax per non-Medicare day is flat for all homes; no high-Medicaid discount.
- Bed holds for hospital stays are not paid; therapeutic leave is paid up to 12 days a year.
Frequently asked
Why are Utah nursing home Medicaid payments much higher than the posted rates?
76 of 84 homes are licensed to rural hospital districts or counties and receive quarterly UPL supplemental payments funded by IGT. In SFY2026 these totaled about $192M, or $169 per Medicaid day, on top of posted rates near $249.
Does Utah pay each nursing home its own costs?
No. Utah pays statewide prices: a case-mix dollar base times the home's index, a flat operating rate equal for all homes ($114.16 in SFY2027), and fair rental value property. Cost reports set property inputs and inform budgets, not home-specific ceilings.
What changed in Utah nursing home per diems on July 1, 2026?
Therapy (PT, OT, speech) and non-emergency transport became routine services inside the per diem, aligning with Medicare's PDPM. The case-mix component was raised by the CY2025 net cost of those services, and the NSGO UPL now uses PDPM Medicare rates.
How much is paid outside the posted rate in Utah?
Large: NSGO UPL payments of about $192M in SFY2026, roughly two-thirds of base Medicaid NF payments.
What does Utah Medicaid pay on Medicare coinsurance days?
Lesser-of: Medicaid rate minus Medicare's payment, capped at the coinsurance, so usually $0.
Does Utah require a minimum share of spending on care?
None found.
How is the Utah nursing home provider tax charged?
$28.15 per non-Medicare patient day, uniform; state veterans homes and hospitals are excluded.
How the rate is set
How the method got here
| Effective | From | To | Change | Headline | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004-07-02 | Earlier cost-based nursing home rates | Three-part statewide rate: RUG-based case mix component (rebased at 96th percentile of historical costs), flat rate component ($40.40), property component | Utah rebuilt the per diem as a statewide case-mix component plus a flat operating rate and property, funded partly by the new nursing care facility assessment. | Statewide case-mix and flat-rate system adopted | https://medicaid-documents.dhhs.utah.gov/stateplan/spa/4.19-D… |
| 2004-07-01 | No nursing home provider tax | Nursing Care Facility Assessment per non-Medicare patient day, dedicated to raising NF rates above June 30, 2004 levels | Utah created the nursing care facility assessment; statute requires rates to revert to 6/30/2004 levels if the fund cannot be used. | Nursing care facility assessment created | https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title26B/Chapter3/26B-3-S405.html |
| 2008-07-01 | Property paid from reported capital costs | Fair rental value property component based on facility age and bed value | Utah replaced capital cost reimbursement with a fair rental value system. | Fair rental value property system adopted | https://medicaid-documents.dhhs.utah.gov/stateplan/spa/4.19-D… |
| 2013-02-01 | Uniform rates only | Quarterly UPL supplemental payments to non-state government-owned homes funded by IGT | Utah began the NSGO UPL program; rural hospital districts and counties now hold the licenses of most Medicaid nursing homes. | NSGO upper payment limit program begins | https://adminrules.utah.gov/public/rule/R414-505/Current%20Rules |
| 2023-07-01 | RUG-III 34-group case mix index | PDPM-based case mix index (OSA collected through 6/30/2025) | Utah removed the RUGS definitions and began calculating case mix on PDPM, keeping Optional State Assessments until CMS ended them. | Case mix moves from RUG-III to PDPM | https://rules.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/b20230515.pdf |
| 2026-07-01 | Therapy and non-emergency transport billed outside the per diem | Routine services aligned with Medicare PDPM; therapy and NEMT inside the per diem | Utah folded therapy and other PDPM-covered services into the per diem and raised the case mix component by their CY2025 net cost. | Per diem aligned with Medicare PDPM services | https://medicaid-documents.dhhs.utah.gov/stateplan/spa/4.19-D… |
Verified October 11, 2026
Cost basis
- Uses cost reports
Yes
- Cost report
Utah Facility Cost Profile (FCP), state-specific annual cost report (July 1-June 30 period, due 3 months after period end), plus the optional Fair Rental Value (FRV) Data Report (March-February, due first business day of March). Allowable costs per CMS Pub. 15-1.
- Base year and rebasing
No routine rebasing of operating components. The case mix and flat rate components trace to historical costs (case mix component rebased 7/2/2004 at the 96th percentile; flat rate based on the 50th percentile) and are increased each July 1 by the inflation factor the Legislature funds. FRV recalculated each July 1 from licensing bed counts and FRV Data Reports. 7/1/2026: case mix component raised by the CY2025 net cost of therapy and other services moved into the per diem (SPA 24-0003).
- Components
Component Method Notes case mix component Statewide 'Case Mix Base #39; x the home's normalized Medicaid case-mix index (home's case mix score / state average score). Base $111.09 for 10/1/2026 ($110.83 for 7/1/2026). Raw food is included here. Nursing salaries/benefits and purchased nursing are the cost pool. Homes with <20% Medicaid FFS days or <6 months of data get the state average CMI (1.0). flat rate component One fixed per diem for all homes: $114.16 for SFY2027 ($113.30 SFY2026; $106.22 SFY2024-2025). Covers general and administrative, plant operation and maintenance, dietary (except raw food), laundry and linen, housekeeping, recreational activities. Increased periodically for inflation (4.19-D §922). property component (FRV + pass-through) Fair rental value: buildings and fixtures value per licensed bed $85,660.06 on 7/1/2026 (+1.84%/yr), +10% land and +10% movable equipment, trended by a capital index, depreciated 1.5%/yr by weighted facility age (max 66 years), x 9% rental factor, / greater of actual days or 85% (urban) / 65% (rural) of licensed bed days; floor $8/day. Plus real property tax and insurance per day passed through from the latest FCP/FRV report. Median total property $25.46/day for 10/1/2026. Urban = Weber, Davis, Utah, Salt Lake, Cache, Washington counties. - Inflation
Budget requests use the Producer Price Index (BLS), with consideration of prior years; the Utah Legislature sets the actual inflation (4.19-D §900). Rate files show the 'July Inflation Factor': 2.80% SFY2027, 2.75% SFY2026, 1.12% SFY2025, 6.2% SFY2024.
Verified October 11, 2026
Case mix
- System
PDPM
- Applied at
Facility average
- How it works
Medicaid residents' case mix scores are combined into one facility-wide Medicaid case mix, multiplied by a statewide dollar conversion factor, so every Medicaid resident in a home gets the same rate (4.19-D §921; R414-504-2(4)).
- Classification
PDPM-based state case mix score (rate files label the case mix dollar column '× Base PDPM' since 7/1/2023; the 2023 rule amendment deleted the 'RUGS' 34-group definitions and defined PDPM). Utah publishes facility case mix scores (about 548-836 in Q2 SFY2027) and normalized indices (0.877-1.338) but not the resident-level weights or which PDPM components are used.
- Applies to
Case mix component only; flat rate and property are not case-mix adjusted.
- Acuity measured from
Medicaid residents only; three months of MDS assessments per quarter (Jan-Mar MDS -> July 1 rates; Apr-Jun -> Oct 1; Jul-Sep -> Jan 1; Oct-Dec -> Apr 1). Data extracted about the last business day of the second month before the rate date. Intensive-skilled (vent/trach) residents excluded. Homes with <20% Medicaid FFS days or <6 months of data get the state average CMI (6 homes at 1.0 on 10/1/2026).
- Updated
quarterly
- Move to PDPM
Effective 7/1/2023 (SPA 23-0006; R414-504 amendment, Utah State Bulletin 5/15/2023) Utah dropped the RUG-III 34-group definitions and began PDPM-based case mix; homes also had to submit the Optional State Assessment (OSA) so RUG data stayed available (rule text: required to calculate the case mix index; the data also fed the UPL gap). R414-504 amended 7/2/2025 removed the OSA because CMS ended OSA support after 6/30/2025. 7/1/2026: routine services aligned with PDPM (SPA 24-0003).
Verified October 11, 2026
Low-acuity residents
None found. Utah pays one facility rate per home; residents in low PDPM groups only pull down the home's average case-mix index. Residents must meet nursing facility level of care (R414-502) for Medicaid NF payment; no reduced rate for low-acuity groups appears in R414-504 or 4.19-D. Checked: R414-504 (7/2/2025), 4.19-D (current), rate files.
Verified October 11, 2026
Capital
Fair rental value (age-based): $85,660.06 per licensed bed buildings value on 7/1/2026 (+10% land, +10% equipment), depreciated 1.5%/yr to a 66-year max age, 9% rental factor, divided by the greater of actual days or 85% (urban) / 65% (rural) of licensed capacity, $8/day floor; age reduced for qualifying additions, replacements and major renovations (>= $500/bed). Plus pass-through of real property tax and insurance.
Verified October 11, 2026
Budget adjustment factor
None found. The annual increase is the inflation factor the Legislature funds (2.80% SFY2027, 2.75% SFY2026, 1.12% SFY2025, 6.2% SFY2024); QII funds are carved from the base rate budget.
Verified October 11, 2026
Add-ons and money outside the rate
Paid outside the posted rate
- Level
large
- Estimate
About 65-70% of base Medicaid NF payments. SFY2026 NSGO UPL payments $192.3M over 1,137,708 days ($169/day) vs posted rates averaging about $242-249/day; the SFY2025 UPL gap file shows NSGO homes' Medicaid base payments of $276.9M. Plus QII about $4.85M/yr.
- Components
NSGO UPL supplemental: $192.3M SFY2026 (76 homes), $167.2M SFY2025, $169.4M SFY2024, $149.2M SFY2023. QII1/QII2: about $4.85M/yr. Per-resident add-ons are claims-based, not counted.
Verified October 11, 2026
Payments by owner type
- Applies
yes
- Detail
Only homes whose license and Medicaid contract are held by a non-state governmental entity can draw the UPL payment. In SFY2026, 76 of the 84 homes in the rate file were NSGO: one rural hospital district (44 homes), a second (15), a county special service district (5), Milford Valley Hospital (4), Canyonlands Special Service District (3), and Emery, Garfield, Millard, Duchesne and Uintah counties (1 each). Average gap paid $169 per Medicaid day; the 8 non-NSGO homes get only posted rates. Repeated quality failures cut the UPL 15% per failed metric (R414-516).
- Funding
IGT of public funds from the NSGE that holds the license (hospital authority/district, special service district, county or city), certified each payment and annually (26B-3-130; R414-505-6). Private operators run the homes under management agreements; NSGEs must report management-entity changes within 30 days (R414-505-7).
Verified October 11, 2026
Quality program
- Active
Yes
- Program
Nursing Home Quality Improvement Incentive, QII1 and QII2 (4.19-D §927; R414-504-4; SPA 25-0001 eff. 7/1/2025). Separately, the NSGO UPL Quality Improvement Program (R414-516) is a penalty system on UPL payments, not a bonus.
- Funding
Set aside from the base rate budget (budget neutral within the NF appropriation): QII1 $4,700,000/yr; QII2 $145,900/yr plus any undisbursed QII1 funds.
- Size
About $4.85M/yr (QII1 $4.7M + QII2 $145,900). SFY2027 QII1 limit amount $643.39 per Medicaid-certified bed.
- Paid as
Lump-sum reimbursement after application (per Medicaid-certified bed, capped at documented cost); QII2 distributed by share of Medicaid resident days.
- Measures
Measure Source Weight How points are earned QII1 initiatives: nurse call systems ($391/bed), resident lifts (up to $90/bed), bathing systems, resident life-enhancing devices, van, clinical information systems/consistent assignment software/backup power, HVAC, dining ($200/bed), staff education ($110/bed), AHCA Quality/Baldrige awards ($200/bed), staff flu/pneumonia shots ($15/bed), dignity devices ($100/bed), staff COVID vaccination (up to $300/bed) state (application with invoices) per-bed amounts, up to 4 approved applications Purchase and install during the incentive period (July 1 prior year - May 31) QII2: four quarterly independent customer satisfaction surveys with action plans; resident choice for wake/bed, meal and bath times independent survey / state eligibility tests Must have received a QII1 payment QII2 survey gate state survey gate No IJ; one F/H/I/J/K/L substandard quality of care citation = 50%; more than one = ineligible (April 1-March 31) - Scoring period
Applications due May 31 each year for the state fiscal year; QII1 period runs July 1 of the prior year through May 31.
- Payment formula
QII1: fixed $/Medicaid-certified bed per initiative (some set to the 'QII1 limit amount' = pool / qualifying beds), capped at documented cost. QII2: pro-rata share of Medicaid resident days among qualifying homes.
- Eligibility
Current Medicaid-certified non-ICF/IID nursing facilities; late or incomplete applications denied (R414-504-4).
- Cadence
Annual
- Scores published
No per-facility payment results found; program page https://medicaid.utah.gov/stplan/longtermcarenfqi/
- Notes
NSGO UPL QI program (R414-516): NSGO homes must meet 6 of 9 metrics (beat national average, improve on prior SFY, or no F/H/I/J/K/L citation) using CASPER long-stay QMs (flu vaccine, UTI, pressure ulcers, falls w/ major injury, weight loss, antipsychotics, mobility decline), adjusted nurse staffing HPRD and state survey. First failure = probation + corrective action plan; second consecutive failure = UPL payment cut 15% per failed metric for at least 12 months.
Verified October 11, 2026
Provider tax
- Charged
per non-Medicare day
- Standard amount
$28.15 per non-Medicare patient day (R414-401-3; DHHS Bed Assessment Rates page shows $28.15 for 7/1/2022 through 7/1/2025). Paid monthly by the last day of the following month.
- Tiers
Who Test Amount Intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual disabilities other $9.15 per patient day from 7/1/2025 ($9.51 before; R414-401 still states $9.51) Utah State Veterans Homes, Utah State Developmental Center, Utah State Hospital, general acute/specialty hospitals and small health care facilities (swing beds in acute and critical access hospitals ARE taxed) public exempt (not a 'nursing care facility' under 26B-3-401) - Lower for high-Medicaid homes
no
- Returned in the rate
Not as a separate add-on. Statute dedicates the fund to increasing NF Medicaid rates above the rates paid before 7/1/2004 and to quality incentive payments (26B-1-332(2)); the money is embedded in the case mix and flat rate components. If federal law bars this use, rates revert to 6/30/2004 levels (26B-3-405).
Verified October 11, 2026
Provider tax notes
Nursing Care Facility Assessment (Utah Code 26B-3-401 to -406; R414-401): $28.15 per non-Medicare patient day for nursing facilities and swing beds (unchanged since at least 7/1/2022); ICF/IID $9.15 from 7/1/2025. Capped at 6% of total gross revenue. Proceeds go to the Nursing Care Facilities Provider Assessment Fund, used to raise NF rates above pre-July 2004 levels, fund quality incentives and the hospice increase (26B-1-332).
Verified October 11, 2026
Supplemental payments
Nursing Facility Non-State Government-Owned (NSGO) Upper Payment Limit program (4.19-D §942; R414-505; R414-516). Each participating NSGO home gets a quarterly supplemental payment equal to its share of the UPL gap: the facility's estimated Medicare PDPM per diem (from MDS, with NTA reduced for pharmacy/lab/radiology/oxygen) minus its Medicaid per diem (claims, third-party, patient liability and quality incentives), x paid days, limited to the aggregate UPL. SFY2026 payments: about $192.3M for 1,137,708 days across 76 homes ($169/day average); SFY2025 $167.2M; SFY2024 $169.4M; SFY2023 $149.2M (UPL Web.xlsx). Non-federal share funded by IGT from the licensing non-state governmental entity. No provider-tax-funded supplemental and no MCO directed payment for NF found.
Verified October 11, 2026
Other add-ons
Per-resident add-ons (one per resident), from Add-On Rates.xlsx and 4.19-D §921 effective 3/1/2026: Specialized Rehabilitation Services $21.88/day; Behaviorally Complex Tier 1 $63.40/day and Tier 2 $185.95/day (replacing a single $7.52 add-on); prior approval and 6-month reviews, recapture if no longer qualified. Intensive skilled (sheet parameters): tracheostomy $441.84/day, ventilator $657.01/day. No COVID-era add-on remains. QII lump sums (see quality_incentive).
Verified October 11, 2026
Units paid separately
(1) Intensive skilled (ventilator/trach) residents: per-resident contract rate negotiated by the State (4.19-D §1000), prior approval, no other add-on; excluded from case mix. (2) Swing beds, transitional care unit beds and small health care facility beds used as NF beds: prior calendar year statewide average NF daily rate (R414-504-3(9); 4.19-D §1200). (3) ICF/IID: negotiated flat rate + FRV. (4) Disaster evacuation payments at cost (4.19-D §2010). (5) New homes paid the average case mix index until adequate MDS data exists; a new owner keeps the prior owner's CMI and property payment.
Verified October 11, 2026
Payment rules
Managed care for long-term care
- Status
short_stay
- Detail
Medicaid health plans (ACOs/MCOs) under the Choice of Health Care Delivery Program cover NF stays only up to 30 days in the 13 mandatory-enrollment counties; stays beyond 30 days are carved out to fee-for-service (R414-140-5(3), eff. 11/13/2025). No managed LTSS program for nursing homes.
Verified October 11, 2026
Who pays
mixed, mostly fee-for-service for nursing facility care. Under the Choice of Health Care Delivery Program (1915(b)), members in 13 mandatory counties (Box Elder, Cache, Davis, Iron, Morgan, Rich, Salt Lake, Summit, Tooele, Utah, Wasatch, Washington, Weber) enroll in ACO/MCO health plans, but plans do not cover 'care in a nursing facility ... for longer than 30 days' (R414-140-5(3)). Long-stay NF care is paid fee-for-service at the posted rates.
Verified October 11, 2026
Included in the daily rate
From 7/1/2026 (SPA 24-0003) the per diem covers nursing, oxygen administration, DME such as walkers and standard wheelchairs, dietary supplements and tube feeding, laundry, PT/OT/speech therapy (newly routine), non-emergency medical transportation (newly routine), medical supplies and OTC items. Billed separately: dental, oxygen gas/concentrators, prescription drugs, prosthetics, physician/QHP outpatient services, lab and radiology, emergency ambulance, eyeglasses/dentures/hearing aids, custom and power wheelchairs, hyperbaric oxygen, recreational therapy for mental health.
Verified October 11, 2026
Bed hold
- Hospital stays
Not paid. The home is paid for the day of admission but not the day of discharge to the hospital (4.19-C §A).
- Leave days
Paid up to 12 days per calendar year per resident (more only with Division prior approval); must be ordered by the physician and in the plan of care. Percentage of per diem not stated (full per diem assumed).
- Occupancy rule
None.
- Notes
ICF/IID therapeutic leave up to 100 days/year. Unpaid leave days may be privately arranged in writing. Excess leave payments are recovered on review.
Verified October 11, 2026
Personal needs allowance
- Per month
45
- Effective
R414-304-13(13) as amended effective 6/19/2025 (amount long-standing; prior effective date not found)
- Notes
A single person expected to return home within six months may keep the one-person basic maintenance standard for up to six months to maintain the home. Not COLA-indexed in rule.
Verified October 11, 2026
Medicare coinsurance days
- Method
lesser_of
- Rule
Supplement 1 to 4.19-B p.3: Medicaid crossover payment is limited to patient liability and is the lower of (1) the allowed Medicaid payment rate less amounts paid by Medicare and other payers, or (2) the Medicare coinsurance and deductibles. NF room-and-board revenue codes are excluded from the 80%-of-Medicare default for unpriced codes. Treatment of Medicare Advantage cost-sharing not found.
- Effect
Medicare's SNF per diem normally exceeds Utah's ~$249 Medicaid rate, so the home usually receives $0 of the day 21-100 coinsurance.
Verified October 11, 2026
Required care spending
- Applies
no
- Rule
No requirement to spend a share of Medicaid revenue on direct care or staff found in R414-504, R414-505, R414-516 or 4.19-D. QII payments are capped at documented purchase costs.
Verified October 11, 2026
Occupancy rules
- Applies
yes
- Rule
Property only: the annual FRV is divided by the greater of actual resident days or 85% of licensed bed capacity (urban: Weber, Davis, Utah, Salt Lake, Cache, Washington counties) or 65% (rural). Homes below those levels get less FRV per day. FRV per diem floor $8. Case mix and flat rate are not affected.
Verified October 11, 2026
MDS accuracy penalties
No cut or recoupment schedule found. The Department may exclude inaccurate or incomplete MDS data from the case mix calculation and may withhold Title XIX payments until MDS submissions are current and accurate (R414-504-3(3),(10); 4.19-D §720.4). Behaviorally complex add-ons paid after a resident stops qualifying are recaptured.
Verified October 11, 2026
Published rates and changes
How often rates change
- A home's rate changes
quarterly
- When
January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1: each home's case mix index is recalculated from the prior quarter's MDS assessments (the statewide case mix base $ also moves slightly). July 1: legislature-funded inflation applied to the case mix base and flat rate, FRV and property tax/insurance pass-through recalculated.
Verified October 11, 2026
When rates change
July 1 state fiscal year (inflation, FRV); quarterly case-mix updates on Oct 1, Jan 1, Apr 1. Add-on parameters change on their own dates (e.g. 3/1/2026 behavioral tiers).
Verified October 11, 2026
Posted rates
- Home-level rates published
Yes
- Where
https://medicaid.utah.gov/stplan/longtermcarenfra/ (current) and https://medicaid.utah.gov/stplan/longtermcarehra/ (history)
- Format
xlsx (since July 2024 rates); pdf for July 2022 - June 2024
- Cadence
Quarterly
- History
Back to 7/1/2022 (SFY2023 Q1) on the historical rates page.
- Home identifier
NPI plus Utah facility ID (e.g. UT207180) and name
Verified October 11, 2026
Rate build-ups
- Published
Yes
- What they show
Per home: case mix score, normalized case mix index, case mix $ (CMI x base), FRV property, real property tax and insurance, total property, total rate; header shows the case mix base $, flat rate component and July inflation factor. Add-on parameters in a separate file; FRV template and UPL gap calculation workbook (Medicare PDPM per diem vs Medicaid per diem by home) also posted.
- Format
xlsx
Verified October 11, 2026
Recent changes
| Effective | Change | Headline | Direction | Size | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-07-01 | Case mix moved to PDPM; sole community provider program and urban/non-urban cost differential removed; OSA required; legislature-funded inflation of 6.2%. | PDPM case mix adopted with 6.2% inflation | increase | average rate $217.57 (7/1/2022 illustration) -> $233.37 (7/1/2023) | https://rules.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/b20230515.pdf |
| 2024-07-01 | Inflation factor of 1.12% applied to the case mix base; flat rate held at $106.22. | Small 1.1% inflation update | increase | average rate $235.31 (7/1/2024) | https://medicaid.utah.gov/stplan/longtermcarehra/ |
| 2025-07-01 | Inflation 2.75%; flat rate raised from $106.22 to $113.30; QII1 pool set at $4.7M (SPA 25-0001); OSA requirement ended 7/2/2025. | Flat rate raised to $113.30; QII pool $4.7 million | increase | average rate $235.31 -> $242.41 | https://medicaid-documents.dhhs.utah.gov/stateplan/spa/4.19-D… |
| 2026-03-01 | Behaviorally complex add-on replaced by two tiers: $63.40/day (Tier 1) and $185.95/day (Tier 2), up from $7.52 (SPA 26-0001). | Behavioral add-on tiered at $63.40 and $185.95 | increase | $7.52 -> $63.40 / $185.95 per day | https://medicaid-documents.dhhs.utah.gov/stateplan/spa/4.19-D… |
| 2026-07-01 | Therapy and NEMT moved inside the per diem with a case-mix increase for their CY2025 cost; 2.80% inflation; FRV bed value $85,660.06; NSGO UPL switched to PDPM Medicare rates (SPAs 24-0003, 26-0002). | Therapy folded into rate; PDPM-based UPL | structural | average rate $242.16 (4/1/2026) -> $248.93 (7/1/2026) | https://medicaid-documents.dhhs.utah.gov/stateplan/spa/4.19-D… |
Verified October 11, 2026
Assisted living
Medicaid assisted living
- Covered
limited
- Program
New Choices Waiver (now under Utah's 1115 demonstration; State Implementation Plan effective 7/1/2025) for adults 18+ at nursing facility level of care who are leaving a long institutional stay; services include adult residential (assisted living) services, case management and others. The Aging Waiver serves 65+ in the community.
- What is paid
Services only; participants pay their own room and board.
- Limits
Limited enrollment slots. Applicants must have 90+ Medicaid days in a nursing facility, or 365+ days at NF level of care in a licensed assisted living or Type N facility, or 30+ Medicare days in a medical institution with a planned 60-day NF stay, or transfer from another waiver.
Verified October 11, 2026
Sources
- Utah Admin. Code R414-504 Nursing Facility Payments (eff. 7/2/2025) · regulation
- Utah State Plan Attachment 4.19-D Nursing Home Reimbursement (current, incl. TN 23-0006, 24-0003, 25-0001, 26-0001, 26-0002) · state plan
- Utah State Plan Attachment 4.19-C Reserve Bed Payment Policy (TN 24-0023, eff. 1/1/2025) · state plan
- Utah State Plan Attachment 4.19-B, Supplement 1 (Medicare deductible/coinsurance) · state plan
- Utah Admin. Code R414-505 NF NSGO UPL Program (eff. 9/21/2026) · regulation
- Utah Admin. Code R414-516 NF NSGO UPL Quality Improvement Program (eff. 7/2/2025) · regulation
- Utah Admin. Code R414-401 Nursing Care Facility Assessment (eff. 7/1/2024) · regulation
- Utah Code 26B-3-401 to 26B-3-406 Nursing Care Facility Assessment; 26B-1-332 Provider Assessment Fund · statute
- DHHS Bed Assessment Rates page · agency page
- Utah Admin. Code R414-140 Choice of Health Care Delivery Program (eff. 11/13/2025) · regulation
- Utah Admin. Code R414-304 Income and Budgeting (PNA $45, eff. 6/19/2025) · regulation
- Utah Medicaid Nursing Home Rates, SFQ 20272 (10/1/2026-12/31/2026) · rate file
- Nursing Facility Historical Rates page (SFY2023-SFY2027 quarterly files) · agency page
- Nursing Home Add-On Rates (parameter history) · rate file
- NSGO NF UPL detail spreadsheet (SFY2026 quarterly payments, gap calculation, history from SFY2023) · rate file
- DHHS QI Incentive Programs page (SFY2027 QII1 $643.39/bed) · agency page
- DHHS MDS Case Mix Preview Report page · agency page
- Utah State Bulletin, May 15, 2023 (R414-504 amendment: RUGS definitions removed, PDPM defined, OSA required) · regulation
- Utah State Bulletin, May 15, 2025 (R414-504 amendment: OSA removed) · regulation
- New Choices Waiver page and fact sheet · agency page
- MACPAC Nursing Facility Payment Policies compendium, Utah tab (2019 baseline, out of date) · secondary
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