Washington, DC ─ The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) joined their colleagues from The Partnership for Medicaid coalition at a briefing on Capitol Hill today to highlight the importance of including enhanced Medicaid funding in Congress’ economic recovery package.
With nearly 65 percent of nursing home residents and 12 percent of individuals in assisted living communities relying on Medicaid to pay for the care they need, long term care providers are especially attuned to the impact that enhanced Medicaid funding could have on the care of our nation’s frail, elderly, and disabled citizens.
AHCA President & CEO Bruce Yarwood commented, “Including enhanced Medicaid Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) funding in the economic recovery package provides much-needed stability for state Medicaid programs. We applaud Congress and the Administration for their foresight and leadership in providing these additional Medicaid funds, which are essential for millions of frail, elderly, and disabled Americans.”
“We know that increasing FMAP can work. In 2003, boosting federal matching funds preserved seniors’ access to key Medicaid benefits and services. Today, we are calling on Congressional leaders to preserve eligibility, protect current benefits, and ensure prompt payments for health care providers caring for these vulnerable citizens,” remarked NCAL Executive Director David Kyllo.
AHCA/NCAL is proud to stand alongside our colleagues in The Partnership for Medicaid and to support Congress’ and the Administration’s efforts to include FMAP as part of the nation’s economic recovery plan. “Enhanced Medicaid assistance is especially important during tough economic times to protect seniors’ access to quality health care. It was good public policy in 2003, and it’s good public policy now,” concluded Yarwood.
The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) represent 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 or www.ncal.org.