National, State Front Line Caregivers Warn About $64 Million Cut to Medicare Funding for Care of Michig... (ce for QualityNursing Home Care; the Coa...)

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

Date:3/27/2008

ce for Quality Nursing Home Care; the Coalition of Women in Long Term Care (COWL); and the Senior Clinician Group.

Key Constituencies, Priorities Harmed by Proposed Medicare Cuts:

Rural Seniors - In rural areas, nursing homes can be tens or even hundreds of miles from one another, and when Medicare funding is slashed, rural facilities' ability to hire, train, and retain key direct care staff is severely compromised. Consequently, rural seniors' ability to maintain access to quality nursing home care is negatively impacted.

Rural Jobs/Rural Economy - In rural communities, nursing homes are often the largest local employer. Our rural communities depend upon the strength and vitality of local long term care facilities for jobs and economic development. The negative ramifications resulting from federal Medicare cuts quickly ripple through the local economic base, whether from lower salaries, reduced benefits, layoffs, or reduced job creation.

Direct Care Workers - Salary and benefits represent as much as 70% of a nursing home's operating costs. When faced with reduced Medicare payments, facilities have little choice but to pass those reductions along to workers, which in turn impacts retention rates and ultimately quality of care. Direct care workers are overwhelmingly women (86%) and disproportionately minorities (30%).

Capital Investment - Nursing homes operate on razor thin margins, the lowest of any health care provider group. Absent stable Medicare payments, facilities lack the resources needed to invest in repairing and improving their physical plants, which often are more than 30 years old. In addition, facilities lack the resources necessary to invest in the health information technology so crucial to improving the quality and cost-effectiveness of health care delivery in the future.

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