Nursing Homes and Healthcare Reform

We read every day about Congress wrestling with health care reform. Hand in hand with Congress are the groups were refer to as lobbyist- there to make sure their particular industry is protected. One of those groups is the nursing home industry, which is already facing a $16 billion cut in direct support from Medicare over the next 10 years, as well as Medicaid cuts in many states.

The nursing home operators warn that further cutbacks in Medicare-which are part of the reform legislation– will drive many facilities out of business. Some homes are laying off employees now, and a few have recently closed. We are also seeing the nursing home reduce Registered Nurses with Licensed Practical Nurses in many areas. Meanwhile, the need for these institutions is increasing. As the number of people going into nursing homes increase so does the level of nursing care.

The Washington, DC-based Center for Medicare Advocacy ( http://www.medicareadvocacy.org ) reviews reports from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) and advises that those reports show that Medicare overpays nursing homes billions of dollars a year. MedPAC found that that aggregate profit margins for freestanding nursing facilities exceeded 10 percent for seven years in a row. In 2007, Their profit margin was 14.5 percent. Moreover, they didn’t add staff. So the Center for Medicare Advocacy believes that the nursing home operators are pocketing much of the profits, rather than reinvesting them. The reports also cannot account for money paid out to associated groups who own the property, manage the facility etc.

Are the nursing home owners trying to defeat healthcare reform because Medicare benefits reduction will affect care.by scaring their residents into thinking that it will reduce their Medicare benefits? Is the advocacy center right that profits are really higher than reported? Nursing home owners have been known to put their own profits before people. There are cuts in Medicaid. We should all be concerned about the care our elderly will receive.

Knowing what is going on in your local nursing homes is probably the best each of us can do on an individual level. Check them out carefully before placing your loved one in a nursing home. The earlier you know what to look for to prevent nursing home neglect or abuse, the better for your loved one.