Salaries increase for DONs, administrators

As expected, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) on Thursday recommended that skilled nursing facilities not receive a payment increase for fiscal year 2011.

The commission, which is an advisory board to Congress, annually recommends to Congress that facilities receive a 0% market-basket increase. Congress consistently dismisses the suggestion.

“Plain and simple, the MedPAC recommendation is bad for seniors, detrimental to our national and state economies, and illogical in the face of state budgetary chaos wreaking havoc on elderly Americans’ Medicaid benefits,” said Bruce Yarwood, president and CEO of the American Health Care Association, in a statement.