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New
National Poll finds Americans strongly
opposed to cutting Medicare Payments for
Nursing Home Care as a means of financing
Health Care Reform
66% less likely to support re-election of
local Member of Congress if voted for
Medicare Cuts..."78% of those over 65
believe nursing home care will get worse
because of such cuts"
WASHINGTON, Aug. 31 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/
-- As federal lawmakers continue to sound
out constituents over the August recess on
health care reform, and how best to finance
a broad-based overhaul, a new Mellman Group
(D) national survey (1000 Registered Voters,
8/21-24, +/- 3%) finds Americans, by
significant margins, strongly oppose cutting
Medicare-funded nursing home care over other
funding options.
Underscoring the unpopularity of cutting
Medicare-financed nursing home care - now
proposed by Congress - the data finds a full
66% of voters less likely to support their
local member of Congress for reelection if
they voted to cut seniors' Medicare-funded
care to finance health care reform,
believing that cutting such payments would
reduce quality of care.
Says the new Mellman Group poll analysis:
"Voters overwhelmingly oppose cutting
Medicare payments to nursing homes as a
means of financing healthcare reform,
expressing their distaste for this approach
in several ways during our brief survey.
First, it is the least popular of the
funding options being considered.
Second, cutting Medicare payments to nursing
homes is far and away the least acceptable
method of financing reform.
Finally, a large majority of voters would
feel less favorable toward a Member of
Congress who supported such an approach.
Voters say they will take out their anger on
Members who vote for such nursing home cuts
at the ballot box.
The reason is straightforward--most
Americans believe that cutting such payments
will reduce the quality of care seniors
receive in nursing homes.
While healthcare reform is important to many
Americans, Medicare funds for nursing homes
are considered off limits as a way to
finance reform."
When asked "If Congress cut $32 billion in
Medicare payments to nursing homes to care
for seniors, do you think the quality of
care seniors receive in nursing homes would
get better, stay about the same or get
worse?" the analysis indicates that,
"Seniors are equally concerned, as 78% of
those over 65 believe nursing home care will
get worse because of such cuts and a
majority believe care will get much worse
(58%)."
The following are the poll questions and
results:
1. Congress is now considering ways to pay
for healthcare reform. Which one of the
following do you think is the most
acceptable way to pay for healthcare reform?
Cutting Medicare payments to nursing homes
to care for seniors 3%
Raising taxes on people who make over
$250,000 per year 45%
Requiring people to pay taxes on generous
healthcare benefits they receive from their
employers 6%
Taxing health insurance companies 14%
None 26%
Don't know 6%
2. And which one of the following do you
think is the least acceptable way to pay for
healthcare reform?
Cutting Medicare payments to nursing homes
to care for seniors 49%
Raising taxes on people who make over
$250,000 per year 8%
Requiring people to pay taxes on generous
healthcare benefits they receive from their
employers 14%
Taxing health insurance companies 9%
None 14%
Don't know 6%
3. If Congress cut $32 billion in Medicare
payments to nursing homes to care for
seniors, do you think the quality of care
seniors receive in nursing homes would get
better, stay about the same or get worse?
[IF BETTER/WORSE ASK]. And is that much
[BETTER/WORSE] or only somewhat
[BETTER/WORSE]?
Much better 4% 7%
Somewhat better 3%
Stay about the same 11%
Somewhat worse 19%
Much worse 59% 78%
Don't know 4%
4. If your Member of Congress voted to fund
healthcare reform in part by cutting $32
billion in Medicare payments to nursing
homes to care for seniors would you be
__more likely to vote to reelect them,
__less likely to vote to reelect them or
would it not make much difference to your
vote? [IF MORE/ LESS LIKELY ASK:] Is that
much [MORE/LESS] or somewhat [MORE/LESS]
likely?
Much more likely 5% 7%
Somewhat more likely 2%
No difference 20%
Somewhat less likely 17%
Much less likely 49% 66%
Don't know 6%
"From the results of this objective, timely
and highly significant national survey, it
is abundantly clear the public, to its
credit, harbors strong antipathy to slashing
Medicare beneficiaries' nursing home
benefits to finance any broader reform
package," stated Bruce Yarwood, President
and CEO of AHCA.
"We
strongly support the laudable objective of
the Obama Administration and Congress to
expand Americans' access to care, and help
bring down health care costs.
"However,
we will continue to warn both on Capitol
Hill and at the local level how and why the
$32 billion Medicare cuts now under
consideration will not only harm seniors'
ongoing access to quality nursing home care,
but also jeopardize the jobs of the key
frontline caregivers who make a significant
difference in patients' care outcomes."
The poll and the subsequent analysis can be
found at
www.ahca.org.
Source: American
Health Care Association
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