Doctor and senior woman wearing facemasks during coronavirus and flu outbreak. Virus protection. COVID-2019..

With nine nursing homes in Connecticut at risk of closure, two Republican state senators have slammed recent Medicaid cuts. 

State sens. Len Fasano (R-34) and Kevin Kelly (R-21) accused their Democratic colleagues of putting vulnerable seniors at risk and putting “money over people” in order to balance the state budget, according to a report by the Shelton Herald

“Skilled nursing facilities have only received a 1 percent Medicaid rate increase over the last 14 years and already struggle to stay in operation when caring for a large percentage of Medicaid patients,” the senators said in a statement.

Connecticut’s recently approved state budget eliminates stop loss protections for nursing homes that don’t meet certain federal measures, or when those homes have an occupancy level of less than 70%, the report stated. 

The lawmakers said the change could cause “dramatic cuts” to discounted Medicaid reimbursement rates. The nine nursing homes who could be affected were notified last week.  

 “Cutting funding further could cause skilled nursing facilities to shut down, potentially pushing people into unregulated facilities,” the senators said.