| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 23, 2008 |
CONTACT: Kristen Knapp, APR (850) 224-3907 or kknapp@fhca.org | ||||||||||||||||||||
NEWS | |||||||||||||||||||||
New National Medicaid Study: Florida Seniors' Care Underfunded Florida Ranks 10th Nationally in Terms of Cumulative Underfunding of Medicaid Nursing Home Care Tallahassee, FL - A new Eljay, LLC analysis of the nation's Medicaid program released by the American Health Care Association (AHCA) projects that Medicaid underfunds the actual cost of providing quality long term care in 2008 by $188.5 million annually in Florida, and that Florida seniors rank 10th in terms of cumulative underfunding of nursing facility care. "The substantial gap between the cost of providing the quality care Florida seniors deserve and what Medicaid actually pays - combined with the rising pressure on our state budgets - represents an enormous threat to our most vulnerable seniors' care needs," warned William Phelan, President of the Florida Health Care Association (FHCA). "With our national and state economies in a cyclical downturn with no end in sight, we are alarmed that seniors' Medicaid programs will face further cuts in 2009 as our state lawmakers wrestle with ominous budgetary challenges."
According to the new Medicaid analysis, Florida ranks 10th in terms of cumulative Medicaid underfunding of nursing facility care:
The largest payer for long term care in the nation, Medicaid pays for more than two-thirds of skilled nursing facility patient-days annually. Each state sets a daily care reimbursement rate ostensibly tied to the "allowable costs" of providing care in that state - costs such as 24-hour nursing care, of which Florida currently has the highest staffing standards in the nation. These allowable costs also include three meals per day with important dietary supplements; other essential care services for grooming, personal care, bathing, and eating; medical, supplies such as beds and wheelchairs; social activities, and more in a number of states. Phelan said that the post-election economic stimulus package now under consideration by Congress must include state Medicaid relief as one of the key components as a means of protecting Florida seniors. "We strongly urge our U.S. Senators and House delegation to publicly support the inclusion of state Medicaid relief in any post-election stimulus package," Phelan continued. "Including Medicaid relief will help serve as an insurance policy against state budget cuts in the year ahead, and help ensure our state's oldest, most vulnerable seniors continue to retain access to quality nursing home care." Phelan also reminded Florida's legislators that further cuts to Medicaid rates could affect nursing home quality, which has steadily improved in Florida since mandated staffing requirements were implemented in 2001. "These cuts affect Florida nursing homes' ability to pay for the additional nurses and CNA staff required by law - staff that are critically needed to take care of our frail elderly in nursing homes." For a complete copy of the Eljay study, contact Kristen Knapp at FHCA at kknapp@fhca.org. ABOUT THE FLORIDA HEALTH CARE ASSOCIATION ### | |||||||||||||||||||||