Frontline Nursing Home Caregivers to Congress: Don't Leave Town Without Helping Seniors!

Coalition to Protect Senior Care (CPSC): Congress Must Fully Implement New Medicare Payment System for Nursing Homes

Caregiver Jobs Stability, Key to Quality Eldercare, Put at Risk by Failure to Resolve Pending Matter

JOPLIN, Mo., Nov. 30, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Stressing the urgency of the 111th Congress to take steps to repeal the delay in implementation of a new Medicare payment system for the nation's nursing homes, the Coalition to Protect Senior Care (CPSC), a national coalition composed of frontline long term caregivers, warned failure to do so will add to the economic instability already prevalent in skilled nursing facilities throughout America, and consequently imperil the ability of facilities to ensure adequate staffing and ongoing access to the quality care every senior needs and deserves.

"Nursing homes throughout America are already experiencing significant economic turbulence as a result of this persistent, ongoing recession, and the ability to hire, train and retain quality staff has been an enormous challenge – especially throughout rural America, where great distance between facilities makes matters still more challenging," warned Lisa Cantrell, co-founder of the National Association of Health Care Assistants (NAHCA) and Co-Chairperson of the CPSC.

"The frontline long term caregiver is the one who delivers the majority of care to our frail elderly.   From the standpoint of protecting senior's access to quality nursing home care and helping to stabilize facility staffing, Congress needs to use this 'lame-duck' session to put in place the new payment system -- which has no extra cost and is uniformly backed by all stakeholders," Cantrell stated. "There is no reason for the U.S. Senate NOT to act immediately. Congress should not leave town without helping seniors."

In 2009 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized a regulation that would make significant changes in the skilled nursing facility (SNF) Medicare payment system -- technically referred to as resource utilization groups (RUGs). Due to the sweeping nature of the changes, and acting to ensure patients and caregivers were protected in the face of widespread modifications during a recessionary economic period, SNF providers sought a one-year delay in implementing two of the three regulatory changes. However, only one of the changes was delayed.

Cantrell pointed out the House of Representatives has passed this technical fix, and that the SNF community, CMS and the Medicare Payment Advisory Committee (MedPAC) all support a swift resolution. "The ball is in the U.S. Senate's court to act on this key health policy matter affecting a wide swath of facilities, front line staff and seniors requiring ongoing access to care in every corner of America. From facilities' standpoint, it is essential to avoid the operational nightmare that will ensue if the uncertainty surrounding the payment system is not removed by Senate action."

The Coalition to Protect Senior Care consists of the American Association for Long Term Care Nursing (AALTCN); the American College of Health Care Administrators (ACHCA); the American Association of Nurse Assessment Coordinators (AANAC); the National Rural Health Association (NRHA); The American Association of Nurse Assessment Coordinators (AANAC); the American College of Health Care Administrators (ACHCA); the American Society of Health Care Administration Executives (ASHCAE); ASHCAE state affiliate members representing Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Texas and Utah; the American Health Care Association (AHCA); the American Health Quality Association (AHQA); the National Association for the Support of Long Term Care (NASL); the National Association of Health Care Assistants (NAHCA); the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care; and the Senior Clinician Group.

SOURCE Coalition to Protect Senior Care