Balancing the budget on the backs of the elderly?
Posted: 3/20/2008
Balancing the budget on the backs of the elderly?
By Virginia M. Burke, Esq.
President/CEO
Rhode Island Health Care Association
In January, Governor Carcieri publicly announced his plans to reform Rhode Island's long term care system. Part of his plan involves enhancing home care options for seniors - a welcome development. As he stated, ailing seniors deserve to have a choice of long term care options. Of serious concern however, are his plans for seniors who are too ill, frail and/or mentally impaired to be safely cared for at home. When this is the case it is vital that good nursing home care be available.
As anyone who has required nursing home care for themselves or a loved one knows, seniors in nursing homes require and depend on skilled nursing facilities to provide the continuous services they need. As a group they are far more acutely ill and disabled than nursing home residents of the past. They need 24-hour assistance with multiple activities of daily living like walking, dressing or feeding themselves. They often require complex medical care for chronic illness, wound care and extensive rehabilitation. They may have complicated conditions like tracheotomies, cardiac problems or cancer, to name a few. On top of that they may be dealing with dementia, Alzheimer's disease or other cognitive impairments.
Medicaid funding for nursing home care is seriously threatened by our Governor's budget proposal. The Governor is seeking nearly $10 million in savings from funding cuts, which will directly affect the quality of care and availability of services provided to the elderly in nursing homes. The majority of Rhode Island nursing home residents are paid for by the state Medicaid program, which routinely under reimburses for the actual cost of care. The shortfall amounts to millions of dollars each year, losses which are directly borne directly by our nursing homes.
Our state faces a serious fiscal crisis. Nursing homes do not, therefore, expect this shortfall to be remedied this year. However, skilled nursing facilities simply cannot absorb further funding cuts. Each of our long term care delivery options (including home care, assisted living, adult day care and nursing home care) must receive the resources necessary to ensure the adequacy and safety of the care our citizens deserve.
When first in office, Governor Carcieri addressed a group of nursing home providers by saying, "We must not balance the budget on the backs of the elderly" and yet now, the care that many of them need is in peril. It's up to all of us to demand that our elected officials protect a generation that has given a life time of contributions to our state and in return, deserves appropriate care in their hour of need.
By Virginia M. Burke, Esq.
President/CEO
Rhode Island Health Care Association
In January, Governor Carcieri publicly announced his plans to reform Rhode Island's long term care system. Part of his plan involves enhancing home care options for seniors - a welcome development. As he stated, ailing seniors deserve to have a choice of long term care options. Of serious concern however, are his plans for seniors who are too ill, frail and/or mentally impaired to be safely cared for at home. When this is the case it is vital that good nursing home care be available.
As anyone who has required nursing home care for themselves or a loved one knows, seniors in nursing homes require and depend on skilled nursing facilities to provide the continuous services they need. As a group they are far more acutely ill and disabled than nursing home residents of the past. They need 24-hour assistance with multiple activities of daily living like walking, dressing or feeding themselves. They often require complex medical care for chronic illness, wound care and extensive rehabilitation. They may have complicated conditions like tracheotomies, cardiac problems or cancer, to name a few. On top of that they may be dealing with dementia, Alzheimer's disease or other cognitive impairments.
Medicaid funding for nursing home care is seriously threatened by our Governor's budget proposal. The Governor is seeking nearly $10 million in savings from funding cuts, which will directly affect the quality of care and availability of services provided to the elderly in nursing homes. The majority of Rhode Island nursing home residents are paid for by the state Medicaid program, which routinely under reimburses for the actual cost of care. The shortfall amounts to millions of dollars each year, losses which are directly borne directly by our nursing homes.
Our state faces a serious fiscal crisis. Nursing homes do not, therefore, expect this shortfall to be remedied this year. However, skilled nursing facilities simply cannot absorb further funding cuts. Each of our long term care delivery options (including home care, assisted living, adult day care and nursing home care) must receive the resources necessary to ensure the adequacy and safety of the care our citizens deserve.
When first in office, Governor Carcieri addressed a group of nursing home providers by saying, "We must not balance the budget on the backs of the elderly" and yet now, the care that many of them need is in peril. It's up to all of us to demand that our elected officials protect a generation that has given a life time of contributions to our state and in return, deserves appropriate care in their hour of need.
