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Lawmakers say extend Medicaid Subsidies to
help African-American Seniors
Three black members of Congress say minority
nursing home patients would be
disproportionately affected if Congress
fails to extend bonus payments to state
Medicaid programs.
Low Medicaid payment rates to nursing homes
have been blamed for causing low staffing
rates and quality-of-care problems for
years. The lawmakers fear that without the
extra payments, states will trim their
budgets, exacerbating problems at nursing
homes that rely heavily on Medicaid.
Reps. Ed Towns, D-N.Y., Gwen Moore, D-Wisc.
and Danny Davis, D-Ill., cited a
new report by consulting firm
Avalere Health, which noted that 40 percent
of black nursing home patients lived in
"lower-tier" nursing homes compare to 9
percent of whites. Lower-tier nursing homes
are those that have predominantly Medicaid
patients.
The federal government has been paying
states a higher federal share of Medicaid as
part of the stimulus package passed by
Congress in 2009. The extra money is set to
expire at the end of 2010. But most states
are relying on the extra funds through the
end of their budget year, June 30, 2011.
Debt-conscious lawmakers have been reluctant
to extend the program because of its $24
billion price tag, but supporters are
pushing for a vote before the August
congressional recess.
"This is extremely important for African
American seniors," Moore said. "Rates are
already too low to those nursing homes that
provide care to our seniors..and when we
have cuts it will means cuts to quality of
services."
"We have to do all we can to stop
reinforcing these disparities," she said.
The Avalere report said seven states this
year have announced cuts in Medicaid nursing
home fees ranging from 1 percent to 10
percent. Ten other are considering cuts.
The Avalere report was done at the request
of
The Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care,
a coalition that includes some of the
nation’s largest nursing home chains.
