A report tracking Medicaid spending going back over the last seven years showed that Medicaid underfunded payments for services to all patients by $14.17 everyday in 2009. Projections are that this alarming underfunding trend will get worse in 2010 and 2011. The economic crisis has robbed state budgets of funds available to support Medicaid funded programs and as a result there was a national deficit of almost $5 billion.
Medicaid funds at least 2/3 of all spending for nursing home care. Spending shortfalls of this magnitude threaten the ability of nursing homes to offer the highest levels of care for the most vulnerable populations. Frustratingly for nursing homes and those in their care, state governments were given money in 2009 via the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to make up this deficit. But guess what—governments diverted the money away from providing the healthcare it was intended, and instead used the money to shore up their own budget deficits.
As readers of the Life Care Funding BLOG know, we continue to bring awareness to the unavoidable trend of reducing the amounts of money that are available for Medicare and Medicaid. And why is that? Because we are now in the throes of an explosion of Baby Boomers reaching retirement age at the same time that our country’s economy is under siege and entering unfamiliar territory. Washington, DC and 50 state capitols have no choice but to figure out how to make do with less.
They have two tools to work with:
1. Make it harder for people to qualify for Medicare and Medicaid, and--
2. Reduce what is available for those that do qualify.
What tools do seniors and their families have to work with?
1. Information
2. Time
People need to arm themselves with information about how the system works and what kind of funding options (and limitations) they have to work with. And, people need to stop waiting until the last minute to plan for their inevitable time in long term care. In one form or another, (home or facility based) as people age and/or become frail they will need someone to help care for them. That care will cost money and that money has to come from somewhere. As the government makes it harder and harder to access less funding, people need to prepare to bear much of the financial burden on their own. To ensure quality of life and dignity when the time for long term care arrives; people must make the effort today to understand what kind of financial options are out there such as the VA Benefit, Life Insurance Settlements, Credit Programs, Reverse Mortgages, Long Term Care Insurance and other sources of private funding.
To read more about Medicaid budget deficits, click here.
State of Maine Announces proposal to cut 10% out of nursing home Medicaid spending in 2010:
Governor Baldacci released his proposed FY 2010-2011 State budget Friday afternoon. As in previous years, the Departments of Health and Human Services and Education are being asked to bear the brunt of significant cuts including 10% rate cuts to some MaineCare providers including nursing homes and residential care facilities. Preliminary analysis shows that the cut to nursing homes is in the area of $26 million. It is harder to separate the hit to res care, but we estimate it to be in the area of $10 million or a little over $9.00 per resident day. The newest figures (Nov. 2009) from AHCA indicate that Maine currently underfunds its nursing homes by $25.5 million per year. This translates to an average loss of $16.20 per resident per day. So, it seems reasonable to estimate that the proposed cuts will double those shortfalls.
