As Congress considers a variety of ways to pay for the delay in the scheduled 27.4% reduction in physician reimbursement rates set to take place at the end of this year (“Doc fix”), we are very concerned that the proposals being considered may include Medicare and Medicaid nursing facility payment policies. Ensuring that payments to physicians don't drop sharply shouldn’t also mean taking away other critical resources from skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) in order to cover the cost.

While we understand the need for sacrifice, the combination of cuts from health care reform, state Medicaid crunches, and the dramatic Medicare payment adjustment is taking its toll. Job losses have begun to hit the sector due to reductions already sustained, and the long-term care profession simply cannot sustain additional cuts at this time. As the nation's 10th largest employer, it is extremely important that we share our concerns with Congress.

Contact your members of Congress TODAY and tell them not to cut payments affecting the long-term care profession. We encourage you to contact your individual member of Congress here to share this important information and let them know that we simply can’t take additional cuts.

If you choose to send a more personalized message, or have the opportunity to talk to/meet with your U.S. Senator or Representative, here are some further talking points:

• Stable and appropriate physician payments are essential to ensuring quality medical care for our post-acute and long-term care patients — both through medical director care and individual physicians. But ensuring these payments to physicians shouldn’t also mean taking away other critical resources from SNFs in order to cover the cost.

• In these tough economic times, it is important to remember that the long-term care sector is the 10th largest employer in the country, contributing 5.4 million jobs while generating $529 billion in economic activity and $60.9 billion in taxes.

• Nursing homes have already shared in the sacrifice. The nursing home sector has faced substantial reductions through health care reform, state Medicaid crises, and regulation changes. The automatic Medicare cuts that will come into play in 2013 — as a result of the Super Committee’s failure — will take 2 percent more per year out of the skilled nursing facility payment update.

• Current proposals — such as imposing a 25 percent limit on the federal government’s coverage of costs from bad debt, capping Medicaid provider taxes at 3.5% of total payments, and suspension of market basket (cost of living) adjustments — would be detrimental to nursing facility patients.

• Skilled nursing facilities already have the lowest operating margins of all major health care providers. Over 70% of skilled nursing facility costs are labor-related; unfortunately, staffing cuts are a direct result of less funding, and any further reductions could place patient care at risk.

• The first priority of long-term and post-acute care facilities is to provide high quality and medically advanced care for our nation’s seniors. To ensure that facilities are able to continue providing this care and to prepare for the future, the Medicare financing system must be stable.

Patti Cullen, CAE
952.851.2487
pcullen@careproviders.org

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