HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - The nation's nursing homes are perilously close to laying off workers, cutting services - possibly even closing - because of a perfect storm wallop from the recession and deep federal and state government spending cuts, industry experts say.
The spending cuts are only just beginning. Wait until this health care reform really gets going. It's all in the details, which hopefully we will all have a chance to read and comment on. It appears that some of our elected officials are not even reading the devilish details.
A Medicare rate adjustment that cuts an estimated $16 billion in nursing home funding over the next 10 years was enacted at week's end by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services - on top of state-level cuts or flat-funding that already had the industry reeling.
And Congress is debating slashing billions more in Medicare funding as part of health care reform.
Add it all up, and the nursing home industry is headed for a crisis, industry officials say.
"We can foresee the possibility of nursing homes having to close their doors," said David Hebert, a senior vice president at the American Health Care Association. "I certainly foresee that we'll have to let staff go."
So in order to fix one part of health care, we have to sacrifice another part? Seems so. A saving grace here might be that home care would be the most cost effective "choice"- which is far better for the elderly person than a nursing home admission.
