AHCA Salutes Bipartisan Congressional Effort Urging Bush Administration to Eliminate SNF Cuts

VHCA (6/6/2008)

On Thursday, the American Health Care Association (AHCA) and Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care (the Alliance) today praised U.S. Senators Kent Conrad (D-ND), Norm Coleman (R-MN) and Reps. Earl Pomeroy (D-ND), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Shelley Berkley (D-NV) for leading a new effort in the U.S. Senate and House, respectively, to prevent the Bush Administration from moving forward with regulatory-driven cuts to seniors’ Medicare Part A nursing home funding. AHCA and the Alliance said their initiative reflects growing public sentiment against Medicare cuts that jeopardize seniors’ care, and undermine the national, state and local economic and jobs base.

In a new “Dear Colleague” letter, the Senate and House lawmakers are seeking signatures for a letter to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Mike Leavitt warning, “We are deeply concerned that high-quality skilled nursing care for America’s seniors will be threatened if the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) moves forward with an administrative proposal that would cut $770 million in Medicare funding for skilled nursing facility (SNF) care in 2009 and more than $4 billion over the next five years.”

The Conrad, Coleman Senate letter indicates that the “CMS’ proposal to correct a ‘forecast error’ will jeopardize the significant quality improvements made by the SNF community in recent years as well as the ability of SNFs to continue caring for high acuity patients.  Because SNFs rely on Medicare to make up for chronic underfunding by the Medicaid program – an average of $13 per day for every Medicaid beneficiary in nursing homes nationwide – it is critically important that Medicare reimbursement remain fair and consistent.  We believe that if CMS were to finalize its proposed rule, the ability of providers to care for our nation’s most vulnerable population – the frail elderly and disabled – would be severely threatened.” 

In the House letter, Pomeroy, Capito, and Berkley note that the Lewin Group recently estimated the Administration’s Medicare cuts will have a net negative total economic impact of $4.5 billion nationally for FY 2009. In addition, they explained, the Lewin data finds the $770 million decline in revenue resulting from the regulatory cut, will impact approximately $1.8 billion in wages, 43,530 jobs and approximately $661 million in federal, state and local tax revenue just in the first year.

AHCA and the Alliance thanked Senators Conrad and Coleman, and Representatives Pomeroy, Capito and Berkley, for initiating a timely, effective, bipartisan effort to help ensure elderly Medicare beneficiaries in need of intensive, high quality skilled nursing care receive the Medicare funding they need and deserve.