CONNECTICUT — Gov. Ned Lamont’s (D) administration offered nine nursing homes a temporary reprieve from Medicaid funding cuts that have been threatening the facilities.
The state Department of Social Services agreed to suspend plans to reduce one-and-a-half months’ worth of funding for the nursing homes, starting in late September.
State Republican senators had called for a special session to override a portion of the state budget that cut $5.3 million in Medicaid funding for nursing homes, which could put them at risk of closing.
The state budget was approved in the spring and removed stop-loss protections for nursing homes that don’t meet certain federal quality measures, or those that have high vacancy rates.
The GOP lawmakers argued the state currently has procedures to hold nursing homes accountable for errors and that the policy change wouldn’t enhance that system, but rather would make it harder for providers to improve or offer care. They were still pushing for the special session, saying the delay to the policy isn’t a solution. Finding $5.3 million in a $40 billion budget over two years should be doable, they asserted to Democrats.
From the October 2019 Issue of McKnight's Long-Term Care News
