Frayed
nerves were showing in the provider community Monday after
President
Obama announced his intentions Saturday to cut $313 billion more from
Medicare and Medicaid over the next 10 years. The proposed new cuts
are in addition to the $635 billion in Medicare and Medicaid spending
reductions already included in the president's FY 2010 budget, and
include billions in potential payment reductions.
Nursing
homes, long-term care hospitals and rehabilitation facilities, would
see their share of Medicare and Medicaid money reduced by $14.4
billion over the next decade under Obama's new proposal. That
includes $110 billion in reductions through “productivity
adjustments” to their Medicare reimbursements. All told, Obama's
proposed cuts now total $948 billion over 10 years. Obama made the
announcement during his weekly radio address.
Administration
officials say many of the reductions are to programs that will become
extraneous if significant healthcare reform is achieved. For example,
$106 billion of the new cuts would be to reimbursements for hospitals
that treat uninsured patients. If more people have health insurance
through new reforms, that money could be saved, according to Obama.
Nursing homes, however, would not necessarily enjoy the same
trade-off provisions and figure to be among the hardest hit provider
groups should the Obama proposal go through.