Bruce Yarwood, AHCA CEO

The American Health Care Association reacted strongly andunfavorably to President Bush’s fiscal year 2009 budget proposal, which wasreleased on Monday. The head of the group called the proposal “unreasonable and unrealistic.” 

“Through both the elimination of patients’badly-needed Medicare market basket update and through what amounts to aback-door attempt to cut Medicare funding through regulation, the President’sbudget represents a double-whammy hit on the funding vital to ensure the continuedprovision of quality care,” says Bruce Yarwood, president and CEO of AHCA. 

The president’s proposed budget would cut more than $90billion from the Medicare budget, and apply new regulations that he hopes woulddecrease costs incurred by the program. These cuts would dramatically affectseniors’ access to quality medical care and services, providers say.