Nursing homes seek more funds
Tuesday, February 14, 2006 6:46 AM PST
By Barbara LaBoe
Printable version
E-mail this articleSaying they can't continue to care for the state's elderly without more money, a coalition of nursing home owners and operators wants an increase in state Medicaid reimbursement.
Currently, nursing homes are reimbursed at 1999 cost levels despite inflation, local nursing home officials said Monday. They spoke during a Longview press conference organized by the Washington United for Quality Nursing Home Care group.
The coalition would like the reimbursement rate increased to 2003 cost levels. It would cost the state about $14 million to do that for one year, and coalition backers said the money could come from the state's projected budget surplus.
The coalition does not specify where the money would come from to sustain the increase in subsequent years.
In addition, the federal government's reimbursement rate is tied to the state's, so a state increase would boost the amount of federal money flowing to facilities by the same amount.
Medicaid pays for about two-thirds of nursing home residents in the state.
Two bills to increase the state reimbursement rate -- Substitute Senate Bill 6430 and Substitute House Bill 2716 -- have been introduced in the Legislature. The bills also would ensure nursing homes would not receive more than their direct costs and people won't have to pay more if they choose a less crowded facility.
The current state Medicaid reimbursement is about $20 less than the $161.37 it costs to house a nursing home resident per day. That adds up to an average $375,000 annual loss for each nursing home in the state, according to coalition officials.
That, in turn, keeps salaries lower than officials would like and contributes to high turnover, particularly in entry-level jobs, said Perry Hoffman, executive director of Frontier Rehabilitation and Extended Care Center in Longview.
In Longview, the turnover rate is more than double the national average and 60 percent above the state average, he said.
Without changes, the situation is expected to grow more dire as the population ages.
"We need to be proactive," Hoffman said. "Everyone knows how baby boomers will affect Social Security, but those same people also will be flooding nursing homes."
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