Report Sees Uneven Senior Care Cuts

August 27, 2009 at 08:00 PM
Share & Print

A new analysis finds that a pending health care reform bill, combined with Medicare cuts already announced, would hit nursing homes in California and Florida the hardest.

The House bill, combined with recently enacted Medicare cuts for nursing home care totaling $44 billion over 10 years, would reduce funding for nursing and rehabilitative care centers by more than $1 billion in each of 15 states, according to the analysis by the American Health Care Association, Washington.

The bill, HR 3200, The America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009, would also endanger the jobs of more than 50,000 caregivers nationwide, the analysis finds.

The cuts would endanger the needs of America's seniors nationally, maintained Bruce Yarwood, AHCA president and CEO.

"Arguments being made that seniors' benefits will not be reduced by the House bill ignore the fact that when Medicare cuts provider reimbursement, providers in turn are forced to cut staff, because labor expenses comprise 70% of facility costs," Yarwood said in a statement.

According to the analysis, the cuts for nursing and rehabilitative services would fall heaviest on the following states over the next 10 years: California, $3.8 billion; Florida, $3.5 billion; New York, $2.9 billion; Texas, $2.7 billion; and Ohio, $2.6 billion.

NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.

Related Stories

Resource Center