Legislature allocates $22 million ‘down payment’ for Medicaid nursing home funding, but more is needed
By Molly Rosbach, Yakima Herald-Republic, Wash. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
He ought to know; he's the third generation of his family to work in the nursing home industry, and he serves as chairman of the
In
"It's kind of a down payment on quality -- being able to maintain quality," said Hyatt, co-owner of Hyatt Family Facilities, which operates nursing homes in
"When you're looking at an industry that hasn't seen an adjustment for almost 10 years, it's a step in the right direction, definitely, and we're very appreciative of that, but there's a lot to do."
The adjustment is to the rates at which
"Certainly if you look at costs across the nation, 2005 doesn't come close to where we're at today," Hyatt said. "Utility costs, food costs -- they've all gone up."
Labor makes up at least 60 percent of nursing home costs, and that's gone up, too, especially with the new requirement for businesses to provide health insurance coverage to their employees.
It's a tough pitch to ask
Still, Hyatt hopes that next year's session will yield more substantial results. He says that on balance, providers know that they aren't going to make money from every payor source -- be it
In 2012, the most recent data the
"What happens is it gets passed on to the consumer in the form of reduced accessibility," he said. "In order to keep the doors open, which we will, we have to reduce our losses; if our losses are greater with
Hyatt has worked with several legislators on the issue, including Rep.
Chandler says that as nursing homes have been forced to become leaner, it's almost like they're being punished for their efficiency.
"As funding has declined, especially on a per-bed or per-patient basis; as providers struggle and they figure out a way to make that work in the short run, I think too often there's been an assumption within
Otherwise, he said, those providers will have to shut their doors.
"We put them in an untenable position of compromising quality of care or access to care, or going out of business," Chandler said. "We need to look at better options."
The rate adjustment to match current costs is long overdue, he says. Another thing he'd like to see is for the state to simplify funding for nursing homes, and give providers more flexibility in how they spend their resources.
Despite the pressures facing
"If we don't solve the real funding issues in long-term care, then what I'm afraid we'll see is that increasingly, nursing home providers just won't take
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