The American Health Care Association (AHCA) is urging lawmakers to overturn a new regulatory action, announced on May 1 that would cut Medicare-financed nursing home care by $770 million nationwide in the year ahead.
Bruce Yarwood, President and CEO of AHCA, said the cuts “have not been subjected to the level of public scrutiny that an action with so many negative public health consequences warrants.” Cutting Medicare funding of skilled nursing care nationwide by $770 million “will significantly hinder providers’ ability to care for higher-acuity patients,” he said in an AHCA release.
AHCA said Sens. Pat Roberts (R-Kansas) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) have both issued letters opposing the new Medicare regulation. “Medicare cuts of this magnitude would create serious instability in the nation’s skilled nursing care system and undermine ongoing efforts to continue to improve quality,” said Roberts in a letter to CMS Acting Administrator Kerry Weems. “Payment policy should support, not undercut, SNFs’ ability to care for the growing number of high-acuity patients who need intensive rehabilitation,” said Wyden in a letter to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt.
Source: CCH Washington Bureau, May 6, 2008
For more information on this and related topics, consult the CCH® Medicare and Medicaid Guide.
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