Group of Senators Asks Bush Administration to Avert Cuts in Medicare Skilled Nursing Facility Payments

Main Category: Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP
Article Date: 11 May 2005 - 11:00 PDT

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A bipartisan group of senators has sent a letter to HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt and other officials calling on the Bush administration to remove cuts to nursing home payments included in the proposed FY 2006 budget,... The Hill reports. According to the letter, the senators wrote "to express our views that if the administration pursues regulatory action to cut critical Medicare funding from skilled nursing facilities, more than 1.6 million frail elderly and disabled Americans will be in jeopardy of losing access to these vital services." The senators added that payment reductions would compromise quality of care at the facilities. "We in Congress have consistently restored Medicare funding to help stabilize the long-term care sector," the senators wrote, adding, "[W]e cannot afford for this to be at the expense of our seniors most in need of assistance in nursing homes." The senators suggested that some savings could be found through Medicaid reform. "Over the years, skilled nursing facilities have come to rely on Medicare to make up for chronic under funding by Medicaid. This relationship between Medicare and Medicaid cannot be ignored," the letter stated. A CMS official said a proposed rule could be ready by Friday. According to The Hill, it is unlikely that Republicans in the House and Senate will stop the cuts and pursue other options for cost savings. Last month, a bipartisan coalition of House members mailed Leavitt a similar letter, as did three governors (Young, The Hill, 5/10).

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