Washington, DC – The American Health Care Association (AHCA) today praised a new sign-on letter championed by U.S. Reps. Shelley Berkley (D-NV) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) to House Budget Committee Chair John Spratt (D-SC) and Ranking Member Paul Ryan (R-WI), asking them to reject the five-year, $24 billion cuts to Medicare-financed nursing home care proposed in the Bush Administration’s FY 2009 budget. Berkley and Capito are spearheading House efforts to rally support and encourage their colleagues to join them in opposing the Administration’s proposed deep Medicare cuts.
"Congresswomen Berkley and Capito have fought in a consistent, effective, bipartisan manner to ensure America's oldest seniors in need of the most intensive skilled nursing care receive the vital Medicare-funded care they require, and we thank them for their long-standing efforts on their behalf," stated Bruce Yarwood, President and CEO of AHCA. "Their new letter is also significant because it draws needed attention to the chronic Medicaid under funding crisis, which becomes still more problematic for patients and facilities when Medicare-funded nursing home care is cut in the manner proposed by the Bush Administration."
Excerpts from the Berkley-Capito letter opposing Medicare and Medicaid cuts for long term care:
“We are writing to urge the Budget Committee to strongly oppose cuts to Medicare and Medicaid in the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2009 (FY 09) Budget. We are especially opposed to those cuts affecting long term care providers. We express our support for strengthening the Medicare and Medicaid programs, which care for our nation’s poor, frail, elderly, and those with disabilities.”
“Approximately 80% of nursing home patients rely on either Medicare or Medicaid to pay for their long term care. Given that the fastest growing segment of our population are those 85 and older, our nation’s need for long term care is likely to increase significantly…Despite the growing demand for long term care, the existing financing mechanisms for Medicare and Medicaid are intertwined and increasingly dysfunctional.”
“Ensuring adequate reimbursements will allow long term care professionals to continue providing seniors with the highest quality care in our nation’s nearly 16,000 nursing homes.”
The American Health Care Association represents nearly 11,000 non-profit and proprietary facilities dedicated to continuous improvement in the delivery of professional and compassionate care provided daily by millions of caring employees to 1.5 million of our nation's frail, elderly and disabled citizens who live in nursing facilities, assisted living residences, subacute centers and homes for persons with mental retardation and developmental disabilities. For more information, please visit www.ahca.org.