Seniors in 15 states requiring nursing and rehabilitative care will face funding cuts in excess of $1 billion over 10 years, according to an analysis by the American Health Care Association.
The study of the pending House health reform bill, combined with the impact of a recently-enacted Medicare regulation cutting Medicare-funded nursing home care by $12 billion over 10 years, finds that seniors' Medicare cuts will total $44 billion over 10 years throughout the nation. In 15 states, the study said, those cuts would amount to more than $1 billion apiece over the 10 years.
AHCA President and CEO Bruce Yarwood said seniors' care needs are endangered by the House bill – as are the jobs of more than 50,000 caregivers nationwide.
"The bottom line is that U.S. seniors' Medicare-funded nursing care will be substantially undermined by the pending health reform bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, and we urge lawmakers to use the last two weeks of the August district work period to revise its plan to ensure seniors are helped by the reform measure – not hurt by it," said Yarwood.
He said arguments that seniors' benefits will not be reduced by the House bill ignore the fact that when Medicare cuts provider reimbursement, nursing homes are forced to cut staff because labor expenses comprise 70 percent of facility costs.
According to the study, the states who would suffer the most through 10-year cuts to Medicare-funded nursing home facilities are:
- California, $3.78 billion
- Florida, $3.48 billion
- New York, $2.87 billion
- Texas, $2.71 billion
- Ohio, $2.55 billion
- Illinois, $2.43 billion
- Pennsylvania, $2.08 billion
- New Jersey, $2.02 billion
- Massachusetts, $1.58 billion
- Michigan, $1.49 billion
- Indiana, $1.34 billion
- North Carolina, $1.25 billion
- Virginia, $1.05 billion
- Connecticu, $1.05 billion
- Tennessee, $1.04 billion