Long Term Leaders Express Concern About Squeeze on State Medicaid Budgets, Ability to Sustain Care Quality Gains
As the federal Medicaid Advisory Commission met today in Atlanta to discuss and deliberate upon pending federal Medicaid reform proposals, Georgia and national long term care leaders expressed concern about the incremental squeeze on state Medicaid budgets, and said the growing disparity between the rising cost of providing quality care and actual government reimbursement levels threatens the ability to sustain nursing home care quality gains.”As we are seeing federal efforts to significantly reduce states’ ability to utilize provider fees and inter-governmental transfers as revenue sources, it is more important than ever for transitional funding strategies to be pursued concurrent with the development and implementation of broader Medicaid reforms,” stated Fred Watson, president of the Georgia Nursing Home Association. “Reducing funding without identifying and allowing the use of alternative revenue sources would undoubtedly harm Georgia’s most vulnerable, medically-fragile seniors in need of high quality facility care.”
Bruce Yarwood, President and CEO of the American Health Care Association (AHCA), said there is some cause for optimism that the Bush Administration is hearing the plea of the nation’s Governors when it comes to the growing squeeze on state Medicaid budgets due to proposed federal cuts, and pointed out that National Governors’ Association (NGA) Chair Mike Huckabee (R-AR) believes headway is being made on this front.”The nation’s governors just ended their annual winter meeting in Washington saying they continue to have concerns about elements of President Bush’s budget that would shift more health care costs to the states, but they also expressed confidence that headway is being made in convincing the Administration to rethink proposals affecting Medicaid payments,” Yarwood said. “We have worked successfully with this Administration to help enhance the quality of America’s nursing home care, and we seek continued progress through the implementation of rationale, fair policies that will facilitate continued progress.”