State, National Long Term Care Leaders: Florida Seniors' Care Quality, Facility Staffing Stability Jeopardized by Cumulative Negative Impact of New Medicaid, Medicare Cuts

$199.5 Million Medicaid Cuts From Tallahassee, Nearly $27 Billion Medicare Cut From Washington Imperils Care Quality, Staffing Stability in Facilities Throughout State; Florida Congressional Delegation Urged to Oppose Additional Medicare Cuts, Help Extend Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) Funding

ROCKLEDGE, Fla., May 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Leaders from the Florida Health Care Association (FHCA), Huntington Place Care and Rehabilitation Center and the national Coalition to Protect Seniors Care (CPSC) joined together to warn that looming state Medicaid cuts of $199.5 million, in conjunction with federal Medicare cuts of nearly $27 billion passed in the just the past six months, mean that vulnerable Florida seniors and the facility staff who care for them are caught in a worsening cost squeeze that risks patient care quality and the jobs of the key frontline caregivers who make a key difference in patient outcomes.

"Florida's most vulnerable frail, elderly and disabled citizens face $199.5 million in new Medicaid funding cuts from Tallahassee on top of deep cuts to Medicare, and the cumulative negative impact on patients' care and the viability of our caregiver jobs base in communities throughout Florida is a matter of growing concern," warned Tony Marshall, Senior Director of Reimbursement for the FHCA. Marshall explained that the year began with Florida facing a $3.2 billion deficit due to declining revenues and expanding Medicaid rolls resulting from Florida's high unemployment rate. Several weeks ago, he noted, lawmakers crafted a $70 billion state budget for the 2010-2011 fiscal year that includes a seven percent cut to Medicaid-funded nursing home care – which amounts to a reduction of $199.5 million.

Marshall urged the Florida congressional delegation to help ensure Congress approves the extension of enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) funding, as doing so would ensure Florida nursing homes would experience a lower, five percent Medicaid rate reduction. Funding cuts, he added, could be reduced to $142 million if FMAP is passed. Lawmakers, however, did give nursing homes the ability to buy back the entire rate reduction included in the 2010-11 budget through an expanded Nursing Home Quality Assessment, contingent on this key FMAP extension.

"Swift action must be taken because the only way nursing homes can avert these significant funding cuts is if Congress takes action before Florida's fiscal year begins on July 1st," Marshall explained. "Without this much-needed assistance, nursing homes, on average, will see a loss of $310,000 annually, or $12.82 per patient per day. As a result, facilities could be forced to eliminate staff and key services. Like so many other states, Medicaid underfunds the actual cost of providing quality long-term care in Florida, making Medicare funding critical to helping supplement inadequate Medicaid payments."

Ken Ragin, Administrator of Huntington Place, expressed alarm that the dual Medicaid and Medicare cuts will undermine his facility operations by threatening the jobs of frontline care staff. "This is a facility that attracts committed, dedicated caregivers – and it is our sincere hope that Congress and the President will refrain from any further Medicare cuts." He also urged the Florida congressional delegation to help force final action on extending until June 30, 2011 the FMAP increase for states. "Given our current state of financial instability, extending FMAP is vital to quality patient care."

Tiffany Bishop, a CNA at Huntington Place, and the local representative of Coalition to Protect Senior Care (CPSC), said, "With seventy percent of our facility costs directly related to staffing, the enormous instability caused by new state Medicaid cuts from Tallahassee and the worsening Medicare funding squeeze from Washington places our vulnerable seniors' ongoing care needs in direct jeopardy, and puts key facility jobs at substantial risk. Adequate, stable and consistent Medicaid and Medicare funding was and always will be directly linked with high quality care and staffing and employment stability."

The Coalition to Protect Senior Care (CPSC) is a national coalition of health care assistants, long term care nurses, certified nursing assistants and others who deliver round-the-clock, front-line care to seniors.

The CPSC 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 Executives (AANEX); the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA); the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA); the American Society of Health Care Administration Executives (ASHCAE); 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; the Coalition of Women in Long Term Care (COWL); and the Nurse Executive Council.

SOURCE Coalition to Protect Senior Care