FHCA Statement on Supreme Court Ruling on Health Care Reform

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    
June 28, 2012  
Contact Kristen Knapp, APR
(850) 224-3907 or kknapp@fhca.org

TALLAHASSEE, FL - The following is a statement from the Florida Health Care Association Executive Director J. Emmett Reed after today’s decision by the Supreme Court of the United States regarding the Affordable Care Act:

“Health care reform includes several components that affect long term and post-acute care providers. Skilled nursing facilities in Florida and across the country have been implementing the law and preparing for the provisions yet to come.

With the constitutional issues surrounding health reform now answered, we hope Congress will shift its attention to tackling the difficult challenge of how to care for a growing elderly population in an era of declining resources. In Florida, the shortfall in Medicaid funding for long term care needs reached $145 million and $6.3 billion nationally in 2011. Against a backdrop of rising health care costs, Florida long term care facilities have also suffered multiple rounds of Medicare cuts and reductions in the last few years. Florida Health Care Association supports initiatives that create incentives for quality care and help contain health care costs. We look forward to working with Governor Scott and the Legislature to address these critical issues that ensure access to skilled nursing and assisted living care for our state’s seniors.”

ABOUT THE FLORIDA HEALTH CARE ASSOCIATION
The Florida Health Care Association (FHCA) is a federation which serves nearly 1,000 members and represents over 500 long term care facilities that provide skilled nursing, post-acute and sub-acute care, short-term rehab, assisted living and other services to the frail elderly and individuals with disabilities in Florida. The mission of FHCA is to advance the quality of services, image, professional development and financial stability of its members. As Florida's first and largest advocacy organization for long term care providers and the elderly they serve, the Association has worked diligently since 1954 to assist its members with continuously improving quality of care and quality of life for the state’s growing elder care population. For more information about the Florida Health Care Association or the CNA Essay Contest, visit www.fhca.org.

# # #