Caregivers Representing Iowa, Arizona, Florida, Kansas, New York and Oklahoma Tell Congress to Pass Billions in Medicaid Resources Needed to Help Preserve Quality Nursing Home Care for Millions of Americans

WASHINGTON, June 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With an urgent extension of federal Medicaid relief (FMAP) unresolved by Congress, representatives of the Coalition to Protect Senior Care (CPSC) – are in Washington, DC today calling on Congress to expedite passage of the Medicaid relief this week.  Long term caregivers are telling Congress that Medicaid funding is vital to maintaining a stable workforce and to preserving quality care for nursing home patients around the country.

Caregivers representing Iowa, Arizona, Florida, Kansas, New York and Oklahoma will hold a news teleconference on the dire need for congressional action that boosts Medicaid funding to states on Wednesday, June 9, 2010 at 2:00 p.m. EDT, 1:00 p.m. CDT and 11:00 a.m. PDT.  

As part of the economic stimulus bill, known officially as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), Congress enacted a temporary increase in the Medicaid Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) for all states in an effort to protect vulnerable populations in the midst of our deep, enduring recession. As the bipartisan National Governors' Association (NGA) notes, "Funding for FMAP is a particularly effective tool because it immediately allows Governors to eliminate planned budget cuts required to meet balanced budget requirements and continue services for those with the greatest need."

"With seventy percent of our facility costs directly related to staffing, the instability caused by state Medicaid cuts in state capitols across the nation -- coupled with Medicare funding cuts from Washington -- puts our patients' care at severe risk," stated Lisa Cantrell, Co-Founder and Chief Clinical Officer of the National Association of Health Care Assistants (NAHCA) and Co-Chairman of the CPSC.

SOURCE Coalition to Protect Senior Care