National, State Front Line Caregivers Warn About $64 Million Cut to Medicare Funding for Care of Michig... (preparefor the influx of baby boomers re...)

National, State Front Line Caregivers Warn About $64 Million Cut to Medicare Funding for Care of Michigan Seniors

Date:3/27/2008

prepare for the influx of baby boomers requiring skilled nursing and rehabilitative healthcare."

Christine Baker, a front line caregiver at Lutheran Home of Livonia, said the combined impact of federal Medicare cuts and more problematic state economic conditions creates a growing squeeze on facility budgets and seniors' growing care needs. "In providing quality, 24-hour care and services to seniors, nursing homes like those we work in rely upon an annual Medicare cost of living update to meet rising costs -- a full 70 percent of which are related to staffing," she stated. "This crucial Medicare update allows for annual cost of living increases for staff, increases a facility's ability to enhance staffing, and provides the vital resources needed to improve and refurbish the facility with modern equipment and technology. Since approximately 80 percent of nursing home residents rely on federal funding from Medicare and Medicaid, added to a slowing national economy, we worry how these cuts will impact Michigan's and other state's Medicaid programs."

The Coalition to Protect Senior Care consists of the American Association for Long Term Care Nursing (AALTCN); the American College of Health Care Administrators (ACHCA); the American Association of Nurse Assessment Coordinators (AANAC); the National Rural Health Association (NRHA); the American Association of Nurse Executives (AANEX); the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA); the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA); the American Society of Health Care Administration Executives (ASHCAE); ASHCAE state affiliate members representing Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Texas and Utah; the American Health Care Association (AHCA); the American Health Quality Association (AHQA); the National Association for the Support of Long Term Care (NASL); the National Association of Health Care Assistants (NAHCA); the Allian
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SOURCE Coalition to Protect Senior Care
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