Twenty nursing homes in Connecticut have threatened to strike on May 1 due to working under expired contracts and requesting a 4% increase in wages over the next two years. The strike could be avoided, according to union leaders, if progress is made in contract talks. However, State officials are preparing for the strike to make sure the nearly 3,000 residents in these nursing homes would still be taken care of if it occurs. The Public Health Commissioner also wrote that they will do what they need to in order to make sure these residents are receiving proper care during the length of the strike.

The long-term care industry, however, is feeling the financial constraint as well as it relies heavily on Medicaid for funding. The state legislature has approved a 2% increase in funding for nursing homes this year and there was also a 3% increase in 2016, but, for the most part, the industry has not seen a rate change for inflation over the past few years.