Nursing Homes Seek Economic Stability

Nursing homes are bearing the brunt of state budget cuts and after-effects of the hurricane season.

For example, Louisiana faced $70.2 million in budget cuts, but the Senate decided to exclude a provision that called for a $36 billion reduction in Medicare and Medicaid funding. The House of Representatives may choose to include the provision.

From United Press International:

“What we’re looking to do is get the economic stability to do a better job,” said Bruce Yarwood, president and chief executive officer of the American Health Care Association, a long-term-care industry group, at a congressional briefing on Tuesday.
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Currently, Medicaid reimburses care providers an average of $125 per day — just $5 per hour per patient — and in some states, the figure is substantially lower.

That is not enough to cover expenses, Yarwood said, and nursing homes rely on Medicare rates, which are somewhat higher, to fill the hole.

Hurricane Katrina alone cost one long term care provider named in the report and which has nursing homes in Louisiana and Texas, $500,000. More funding cuts would make the situation much worse.

Photo source: Acadian Rehabilitation & Nursing Center, Baton Rouge, LA