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Mark Parkinson

The head of the nation’s largest eldercare advocacy organization is imploring lawmakers to stem the tide of rural facility closings.

Mark Parkinson, president and CEO of the American Health Care Association, made his plea on Friday, in an op-ed for the Hill newspaper. He notes that Medicaid is the primary funding source for most nursing home patients and, yet, no federal law requires state programs to reimburse these facilities for the full cost of care. The result is often strained budgets and facility closings, he noted.

Parkinson pointed to Iowa as one example. There, more than 400 facilities accept patients who are on Medicare or Medicaid. Yet, on average, each patient is underfunded by about $30 per day, or more than $10,000 a year.

“If we want to see this devastating trend come to an end, Congress and the administration need to take an earnest look how these facilities are funded and make appropriate investments in long-term care,” the former Kansas governor wrote.

The op-ed comes in response to a New York Times article, detailing an epidemic of rural nursing home closures, along with a recent hearing about provider abuse and neglect.