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Coalition
to Protect Senior Care praises Bipartisan
House effort to protect Seniors' Nursing
Home Care, LTC Workforce
JOPLIN, Mo., Feb. 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/
-- In praising a new bipartisan letter from
four U.S. House lawmakers to President
Barack Obama urging him to protect federal
eldercare funding, the Coalition to Protect
Senior Care (CPSC) said that while the
recently passed American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act (ARRA) will help strengthen
the nation's long term care workforce, the
White House should also ensure adequate
Medicare funding is included in the FY 2010
budget as a means of protecting front line
care jobs and seniors' growing care needs.
In a new letter to President Obama, U.S.
Reps. Earl Pomeroy (D-ND), Shelley Berkley
(D-NV), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and
Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL) said, "We are
writing to respectfully ask that in drafting
your Fiscal Year 2010 (FY 2010) Budget, you
do not propose Medicaid and Medicare payment
policy recommendations that will adversely
affect long term care delivery.
"While
we recognize the importance of ensuring the
future solvency of these programs, we ask
that you also ensure that the best interest
of our nation's frail elderly and the
disabled served by skilled nursing
facilities (SNF) are kept in mind."
Lori Porter, co-founder of the National
Association of Health Care Assistants (NAHCA),
and a senior spokesperson for the Coalition
to Protect Senior Care, based in Joplin, MO,
stated, "With proper spending safeguards at
the state level, ARRA and its Medicaid
component will help bolster the capacity of
America's long term care workforce, and we
commend the President and Congress for
passing this key bill."
Continued Porter, "It is important now to
ensure Medicare is adequately funded in the
FY 2010 budget so that federal policy is
consistent and complementary in terms of
promoting workforce stability and capacity,"
she continued.
"Medicare cuts would turn back the clock in
this regard, cause a loss of front line care
jobs, and put seniors' care at risk.
"We
are thankful these key House lawmakers are
making a bipartisan effort in Washington to
protect this vital Medicare funding in the
weeks ahead."
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 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
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