California Long-Term Care Leaders Praise Rep. Mike Thompson for Signing Key Medicare Letter

The California Association of Health Facilities (CAHF) today praised Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Napa) for his support of the bipartisan letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), as the federal health agency considers a proposal that would cut Medicare reimbursement to skilled nursing facilities immediately by 12.8 percent for fiscal year 2012.

Thompson was one of eight Californians who were among 152 representatives to sign onto the letter to CMS, which urges the agency to consider all of the appropriate data before adopting deep Medicare payment cuts to skilled-nursing facilities.

“Rep. Thompson continues to carry our voice in Washington to ensure the growing needs of our state's most vulnerable, frail, and elderly and disabled are protected,” said CAHF CEO/President James Gomez. “His recognition of the potential devastation this proposal could inflict on California's nursing facilities, the quality of care they provide and the number of jobs they contribute could make the difference in finding a more measured approach to their Medicare payment system.”

In an unprecedented move in late April, CMS proposed a drastic, immediate cut of more than $4 billion to the nation's skilled-nursing facilities. The agency's proposal is based on less than one year of data, while, historically, CMS bases decisions on a full year of data. If the proposal were adopted, nursing facilities would be forced to make significant operational changes, putting more than 100,000 jobs in multiple professions at risk. Additionally, Medi-Cal payments to skilled nursing facilities were cut by 10 percent in the recently-enacted state budget.

CAHF and its national affiliate, the American Health Care Association (AHCA), are advocating that CMS slow down the process and follow its traditional practices of examining the entire data before implementing a reduction to nursing facilities. The associations aim to help CMS reach its goal of budget neutrality within the Medicare payment system, but through a more measured, targeted approach by dispersing the reduction over multiple years.

The bipartisan letter sent to CMS Administrator Donald Berwick was co-signed by California Reps. Howard Berman (D-Van Nuys), John Campbell (R-Newport Beach), Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara), Dennis Cardoza (D-Modesto), Darrell Issa (R-San Diego), Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) and Grace Napolitano (D-Santa Fe Springs).

The letter states:

“Financial stability is critical to ensuring sustainable, quality long-term care for Medicare beneficiaries in nursing facilities. The men and women who work in these facilities, approximately 3.1 million Americans, are responsible for serving some of the frailest members of our society. We must ensure that the services they provide to Medicare beneficiaries are preserved.

“On behalf of our constituents who receive care in SNFs, we request the agency take a more measured approach and delay any proposed cuts pending a review of data from a full year. If, after reviewing additional data, CMS ultimately determines that comprehensive information supports the need to adjust payments to SNFs, then it should follow its common practice of implementing the reduction over a period of two or three years in order to reduce the potential impact on nursing facility services.”