Q: How bad is the planned 11.1% cut in Medicare payments?
A: Never in the history of the Medicare program has either CMS or Congress implemented such a large correction in one year — and the S&P warning [about downgrades due to funding threats] helps confirm our concerns.
Q: But you have been agreeable to “corrective” measures, right?
A: By adding substantial changes in payment methodology for therapy services, CMS also crossed the line from over-correction into real Medicare cuts.
These new Medicare cuts — above and beyond a payment correction we ourselves concurred was necessary — will contribute to destabilizing America’s second-largest health facility employer.
Q: Are you worried debt-reduction efforts will make things worse?
A: The prospect of yet even more Medicare cuts stemming from Congressional “super committee” activity this fall would be devastating to nursing home patients, disastrous to local economies and caregiver jobs, and a historic setback to the health provider sector that offers high-quality care and rehabilitation in a low-cost setting. The nursing home sector intends to put forward several substantive policy initiatives designed to maximize efficiency in Medicare spending.
From the September 01, 2011 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
