Reform must preserve care for seniors
America's caregivers know firsthand how important it is for Congress to reform health care. But as the senior administrator of a long-term care facility in Elk Grove Village, I also know that we can and must increase access for all Americans to affordable, quality health care without burdening our seniors and losing valuable local jobs.
Congress should stop and revise its current reform proposal, which makes deep cuts to Medicare funding of nursing home care - a move that would eliminate many local jobs and negatively impact the quality of care.
When our representatives return to Washington starting Tuesday, they will vote on proposed reform legislation. Please join me in urging our congressional delegation to reconsider the current House proposal, which would cut Medicare funding for seniors in nursing homes by more than $32 billion over 10 years. This enormous cut is on top of the $12 billion in cuts already recently imposed by the agency that oversees Medicare funding. This is just too much to ask of America's seniors.
For Illinois seniors alone, the proposed cuts mean a loss of more than $2.4 billion over the next 10 years, according to a recent analysis of the bill by the American Health Care Association. In addition, long-term care labor income throughout Illinois could suffer a $69 million loss should the proposed Medicare funding cuts take effect. This substantial loss in labor funding would lead to facility layoffs and decreased salaries and benefit cuts to caregivers during this time of economic duress - all of which would negatively impact the quality of care delivered to seniors receiving nursing home care.
It is also well-known that Illinois' Medicaid program already underfunds the actual cost of providing quality nursing home care. According to a 2008 study of the nation's Medicaid system by Eljay LLC, there was a $379 million shortfall in 2008 between the costs incurred for providing Medicaid-financed nursing home care and the actual reimbursement these facilities receive from the state Medicaid program. Cuts this severe are simply unsustainable. Without adequate funding, our facilities cannot continue to provide the unique range of acute care, rehabilitative and convalescent services that can be found nowhere else. Medicare and Medicaid funding are inextricably linked, and our federal lawmakers must factor this reality into their policymaking.
As a health care provider for 20 years, my focus every day is on the well-being of those entrusted to my care. I urge the Illinois congressional delegation to support my work by securing stable, adequate Medicare funding for nursing home care. If they stop and revise the current proposal, we can get this right and allow seniors to benefit from this historic reform as well.
• Brian Gross is a senior administrator of ManorCare at Elk Grove Village.