A new analysis of the Bush administration’s FY09 budget by the American Health Care Association (AHCA) finds the combination of proposed budget cuts and intended regulatory changes will incur an average cut of $18.45 per patient day in Medicare-financed nursing home care, and will have the most significant negative impact on seniors in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, and Washington.
Based on Office of Management and Budget data from the Bush administration’s FY09 budget and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the analysis finds that the impact of the cuts just on those 10 states will total almost $1.8 billion.
In releasing the analysis, Bruce Yarwood, president and CEO of AHCA, stated, “The combined impact of the Bush administration’s Medicare budget cuts and associated regulatory changes will severely jeopardize the growing complex care needs of America’s oldest, sickest seniors--especially when combined with the growing squeeze on state Medicaid budgets.” Read the press release.
