Members of the American Health Care Association and the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care are planning to speak out against a proposed Medicare cut today during a House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing.

It's “not going to be a friendly hearing,” AHCA President and CEO Bruce Yarwood said during a conference call with reporters Tuesday. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on May 1 released its proposal to trim Medicare payments by $770 million for skilled nursing facilities over the next year. CMS also proposed a 3.1% increase in the market basket, or cost-of-living, payment.

The proposal could lead to a “double jeopardy” situation, said Alan Rosenbloom, president of the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care. Nursing homes that face reimbursement cuts could also be vulnerable to a reduction in the market basket as a result of a Medicare package that would halt a physician pay cut.  Providers also believe that the proposed cut would have negative reverberating effects throughout the economy.

The hearing, entitled “In The Hands of Strangers: Are Nursing Home Safeguards Working?” takes place this morning at 10:00am EST at the Rayburn House Office Building.