The Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care recently denounced President Obama’s plan to cut $42 billion from Medicare over 10 years in a move that would target post-acute care providers, essentially saying it will add insult to the injuries that will be sustained from a previously-announced 11.1% reduction in Medicare reimbursement rates.
Skilled nursing facilities provide high quality care to seniors while also benefiting taxpayers with cost-efficient care deliver, the Alliance pointed out, but these new Medicare cuts in combination with other Medicaid cuts would undermine this provision of quality care as well as the ability for SNFs to maintain their status as one of the few job growth sectors in a weak U.S. economy.
“The new Medicare and Medicaid cuts proposed today—on top of the many cuts already in place—would significantly compound the growing SNF sector instability placing patients, our workforce and local facilities at risk,” said Alan Rosenbloom, President of the Alliance, in a statement. “Further weakening our sector with more Medicare and Medicaid cuts is counterproductive to our nation’s health care objectives.”
The federal government has already implemented a series of reductions in Medicare payments to SNFs in the past few years that will lower payments by more than $125 billion in the FY 2012-21 period, contributing to severe sector instability, Rosenbloom pointed out.
The Alliance has previously funded Avalere reports showing the effect the 11.1% reduction in Medicare reimbursement rates will have on SNFs, and has also partnered with the American Health Care Association in launching a nationwide television campaign to prevent more Medicare and Medicaid cuts.
While opposed to Obama’s cut proposal, the organization stated its willingness to work with the Administration to improve Medicare’s post-acute payment system.
Written by Alyssa Gerace
