Washington, DC – Reacting to the threat of a disastrous imbalance to their funding system the American Health Care Association (AHCA) and the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care today expressed their disappointment and dismay over recommendations by the Medicare Payment Advisory Committee (MedPAC) urging Congress to deny a Medicare market basket update for skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) in FY 2011.
“The recent recommendations by MedPAC once again threaten to jeopardize the high quality care and services our nation’s vulnerable citizens depend upon,” stated AHCA’s David Hebert, Senior Vice President of Policy & Government Relations. “The long term and post-acute care sector is currently experiencing up to $16 billion in Medicare cuts, which went into effect on October 1, 2009. As we do not yet know the ultimately significant impact of these very deep cuts will have on our profession, MedPAC’s proposal of eliminating a market basket update for skilled nursing facilities is irrational and irresponsible.”
Alan R. Rosenbloom, President of the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care, said that MedPAC must look at the entire long term care financing system when making recommendations to Congress, and emphasized that the stability of this system is crucial to the provision of high quality care, especially given current state budget conditions and the importance of adequate Medicare funding in a final health care reform bill. “The current level of cuts to Medicare-funded nursing home care in the House bill – $23.9 billion over ten years – is unsustainable in light of both the growing dependence upon Medicare to prop-up Medicaid, and the profession’s ability to withstand such deep cuts.”
“MedPAC’s singular focus on Medicare margins in the long term care sector,” continued Rosenbloom, “does a disservice to frail, elderly, and vulnerable individuals who receive care and services in long term and post acute care facilities and will ultimately result in lost jobs.” As the largest payer for long term care in the nation, Medicaid pays for more than two-thirds of skilled nursing facility patient-days annually.
A recent Eljay LLC analysis of the nation’s Medicaid financing system projects states will cumulatively underfund the actual cost of providing quality long term care by nearly $4.7 billion for 2009. Rosenbloom emphasized that lawmakers must ensure nursing home patients do not end up ensnared between a state Medicaid funding squeeze and the failure of MedPAC to recognize the vital importance of stable Medicare funding.
The long term care leaders commended U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) for recognizing that the full picture of long term care funding can not be looked at in a silo. Senator Wyden’s key provision in the Senate health reform bill, which would require MedPAC to review and report on Medicaid funding when making recommendations about Medicare payments, will help get to the root of the decade-long Medicaid under funding crisis.
As the nation’s largest association of long term and post-acute care providers, the American Health Care Association (AHCA) advocates for quality care and services for frail, elderly and disabled Americans. Compassionate and caring employees provide essential care to one million individuals in our 11,000 not-for-profit and proprietary member facilities.