Skilled Nursing Facility Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, Segmented By Facility Type (Hospital, Freestanding), By Service Type (Intensive Rehabilitation Therapy, Low and Medium Rehabilitation, Medically Complex), By Ownership Type (Non-Profit, For-Profit, Government), By Region and Competition, 2021-2031F

Market Overview

The Global Skilled Nursing Facility Market will grow from USD 99.24 Billion in 2025 to USD 147.93 Billion by 2031 at a 6.88% CAGR. Skilled Nursing Facilities are specialized healthcare institutions that provide twenty-four-hour medical attention, rehabilitation services, and long-term assistance to patients requiring continuous nursing supervision due to chronic illness, injury, or post-surgical recovery. The primary drivers propelling the growth of this market include a rapidly aging global population and the increasing prevalence of chronic conditions such as cardiovascular diseases and dementia, which necessitate prolonged professional medical intervention and institutional care.

However, the market faces a substantial impediment in the form of critical workforce shortages, which severely restrict operational capacity and service availability. This labor deficit prevents facilities from operating at full potential and meeting patient demand. According to the American Health Care Association, in 2024, 46 percent of nursing homes in the United States were compelled to limit new patient admissions specifically due to these staffing challenges.

Key Market Drivers

The favorable evolution of government reimbursement and funding models acts as a critical stabilizer for the market, directly addressing the financial solvency of operators facing inflationary headwinds. By calibrating payment rates to better reflect the acuity and complexity of patient care, federal policies are ensuring that facilities can maintain the necessary liquidity to upgrade clinical capabilities and sustain workforce wages. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, July 2024, in the 'Fiscal Year 2025 Skilled Nursing Facility Prospective Payment System Final Rule', the administration finalized a net increase of approximately $1.4 billion in Medicare Part A payments to skilled nursing facilities for the upcoming fiscal year. This injection of public capital is essential for sustaining operations and mitigating the economic pressures that previously hampered service delivery.

Simultaneously, the expansion of private and public healthcare expenditure is driving a wave of strategic consolidation and operational scaling among major market players to meet rising demand. Corporate entities are increasingly deploying capital to acquire and revitalize regional networks, thereby enhancing the availability of specialized restorative services in underserved areas. According to The Ensign Group, October 2024, in the 'Ensign Group to add eight nursing operations in Tennessee, one in Alabama' press release, the company agreed to add eight skilled nursing operations in Tennessee to its portfolio, signaling a robust appetite for market expansion. This aggressive investment activity is underpinned by improving financial fundamentals across the sector; according to Sabra Health Care REIT, Inc., in 2024, the skilled nursing and transitional care facilities in its portfolio achieved an EBITDARM coverage ratio of 1.85x for the second quarter, surpassing pre-pandemic performance levels.

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Key Market Challenges

Critical workforce shortages represent a severe constraint on the expansion of the Global Skilled Nursing Facility Market. This scarcity of qualified personnel, including registered nurses and certified nursing assistants, forces administrators to voluntarily reduce their operational capacity to maintain safety standards and regulatory compliance. Unlike sectors where production can be automated, this industry relies heavily on direct human interaction, meaning a lack of staff immediately translates to fewer available beds. Consequently, facilities cannot absorb the growing volume of patients discharged from hospitals, leading to revenue stagnation and effectively placing a cap on market potential.

The impact of this deficit is evident in recent industry data which highlights significant structural contractions within the sector. According to the American Health Care Association, in 2024, 20 percent of nursing homes in the United States closed a unit, wing, or floor entirely due to labor shortages. This reduction in physical capacity prevents the market from meeting the surging demand driven by demographic shifts, directly causing a deceleration in overall industry growth and stability.

Key Market Trends

The Adoption of Artificial Intelligence for Predictive Analytics is emerging as a transformative trend, enabling operators to enhance clinical decision-making and operational efficiency. Facilities are increasingly integrating machine learning algorithms to analyze resident data, allowing for the early detection of health deterioration and the reduction of hospital readmissions. This technological shift is also streamlining administrative burdens, such as regulatory reporting and staff scheduling, which is critical given the sector's labor constraints. Despite these benefits, the uptake remains gradual compared to other healthcare sectors. According to Skilled Nursing News, December 2025, in the 'Nursing Homes Lag Other Health Care Settings in AI Adoption' article, the adoption rate of artificial intelligence in nursing facilities grew from 3.1 percent in 2023 to only 4.5 percent in 2025, highlighting substantial room for future growth in digital modernization.

Simultaneously, the Shift Toward Private Rooms and Homelike Facility Designs is reshaping the physical landscape of the market to meet evolving consumer preferences and infection control standards. Operators are actively de-densifying their properties by converting multi-bed wards into single-occupancy units, a strategy that improves resident privacy and clinical safety while reducing overall bed inventory. This structural contraction creates a tighter supply-demand dynamic, effectively boosting utilization metrics for the remaining capacity. According to the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care, January 2025, in the 'Skilled Nursing Faces Opportunities and Challenges in 2025' report, the occupancy rate for nursing care rose to 84.5 percent in the third quarter of 2024, a gain partially attributed to the strategic migration toward private room configurations and the consequent reduction in operational bed counts.

Segmental Insights

The freestanding segment is recognized as the fastest-growing category within the global skilled nursing facility market, driven primarily by superior cost-efficiency relative to hospital-based counterparts. These independent facilities incur lower overhead expenses while providing focused long-term care, aligning with the cost-containment strategies of major healthcare payers. Reimbursement frameworks established by organizations such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services increasingly incentivize the utilization of these lower-cost settings, prompting a strategic shift in patient volume away from acute care hospitals. This structural transition supports the sustained expansion of freestanding facilities.

Regional Insights

North America holds a dominant position in the global skilled nursing facility market, driven primarily by an expanding geriatric demographic requiring consistent long-term care. This leadership is supported by a comprehensive healthcare framework and established reimbursement models, such as those managed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in the United States. These funding mechanisms ensure widespread access to post-acute care services, effectively stabilizing market revenue. Furthermore, the rising prevalence of chronic diseases in the region necessitates continuous medical supervision, thereby fueling the sustained demand for skilled nursing institutions across the continent.

Recent Developments

• In December 2024, Medline signed a new prime vendor agreement with Central Management Company to supply medical products to its network of skilled nursing facilities and home health agencies in Louisiana. This partnership established Medline as the primary supplier for the operator's twenty-two facilities, with a focus on enhancing care quality and operational consistency. The collaboration included the provision of comprehensive product insights and educational resources designed to standardize care practices, particularly in skin health. By aligning supply chain operations with clinical education, the companies aimed to improve resident outcomes and drive efficiency across the continuum of care in the region.
• In May 2024, MatrixCare entered into a strategic partnership with NHS Management, LLC, a company that provides administrative and consulting services to skilled nursing and rehabilitation facilities across the southeast United States. Through this agreement, MatrixCare’s electronic health record platform was selected to support operational efficiency and clinical outcomes across the extensive network of facilities affiliated with NHS Management. The collaboration focused on deploying advanced technology solutions to streamline workflows and improve data accessibility for care teams. This move underscored a commitment to leveraging digital health tools to meet the evolving complexities of managing resident care in the long-term care sector.
• In April 2024, Net Health and Tali announced a strategic integration of their technologies to introduce an artificial intelligence-driven ambient listening solution for the post-acute care market. This collaboration embedded Tali’s AI assistant directly into Net Health’s electronic health record platform, allowing therapy providers in skilled nursing facilities to automate documentation tasks. By capturing conversations at the point of care and converting them into clinical notes, the solution aimed to significantly reduce the administrative burden on clinicians. The initiative was launched to help healthcare professionals save time on data entry, thereby enabling them to focus more resources on patient interaction and care delivery.
• In January 2024, PointClickCare and CPSI announced an exclusive referral partnership aimed at enhancing revenue cycle management for skilled nursing facilities. Under this collaboration, PointClickCare agreed to exclusively refer TruBridge, a healthcare solutions provider owned by CPSI, to its skilled nursing clients requiring outsourced financial management services. The partnership was designed to address the increasing staffing and financial pressures faced by long-term care providers by offering them specialized resources to streamline billing processes. This strategic alliance intended to improve the financial health of nursing facilities by reducing administrative inefficiencies and ensuring accurate reimbursement for services rendered.

Key Market Players

• Genesis Healthcare
• Life Care Centers of America
• Encompass Health
• Kindred Healthcare
• Brookdale Senior Living
• Amedisys
• SavaSeniorCare
• Signature HealthCARE
• Consulate Health Care
• HCA Healthcare

Report Scope:

In this report, the Global Skilled Nursing Facility Market has been segmented into the following categories, in addition to the industry trends which have also been detailed below:

• Skilled Nursing Facility Market, By Facility Type:

• Hospital
• Freestanding

• Skilled Nursing Facility Market, By Service Type:

• Intensive Rehabilitation Therapy
• Low and Medium Rehabilitation
• Medically Complex

• Skilled Nursing Facility Market, By Ownership Type:

• Non-Profit
• For-Profit
• Government

• Skilled Nursing Facility Market, By Region:

• North America
• United States
• Canada
• Mexico
• Europe
• France
• United Kingdom
• Italy
• Germany
• Spain
• Asia Pacific
• China
• India
• Japan
• Australia
• South Korea
• South America
• Brazil
• Argentina
• Colombia
• Middle East & Africa
• South Africa
• Saudi Arabia
• UAE