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Save Medicaid & Protect All Long-Term Care Consumers: Oppose Per Capita Caps!

Medicaid is a lifeline for nursing home residents and other long-term care consumers. (Scroll down to take action.)
Listen to what one nursing home resident has to say:



But that lifeline may be taken away. The US House of Representatives has just issued a proposal to change the Medicaid program by going to a system of per capita caps.  The proposal is part of a  plan to replace the Affordable Care Act.  These changes to Medicaid would be devastating to nursing home residents and other long-term care consumers.  Tell your members of congress to oppose per capita caps!

Here's why per capita caps are so harmful:

They only give states a fixed amount of money for each Medicaid beneficiary. The amount doesn’t change over time, so the result is a massive cut in Medicaid funding.  For long-term care consumers, this means:
 
Services/coverage would be drastically reduced or eliminated.
-Fewer people would receive nursing home care even if they needed it.
-States are likely to eliminate coverage they are not required by the federal government to furnish – such as bed hold coverage for hospitalization and therapeutic leave.
 
Eligbility standards would be tightened making it harder to get into a nursing home or receive and home and community-based services.
States would almost certainly increase the number of activities of daily living (ADLs)  necessary to be eligible for long-term care services. Residents who do not meet the revised level of care could be forced out of their nursing homes and people at home who need nursing home care would have to wait until they were even more impaired and dependent to be admitted to a nursing home or receive home care services. 
The personal needs allowance for nursing home residents could be slashed to the federally required minimum of $30 per month, leaving residents with even less money for items like clothing or hair cuts.
 

Nursing home quality of care would decline because nursing homes would cut staff and there would be fewer nursing home inspectors (surveyors).
-Nursing homes would cut staff.  Nursing homes would receive a lower Medicaid reimbursement rate and in turn, further decease their staffing levels.
-Oversight and quality assurance could be weakened because  Medicaid helps pay for facility inspections (surveys) and enforcement of nursing home regulations.
 
For Robin and other long-term care consumers, this could mean little to no care/services and poor nursing home care.
Please contact your members of Congress NOW and urge them to preserve Medicaid and oppose per capita caps. Enter your zip code below to send a message.

This is one of the most serious threats long-term care consumers have ever faced. As Robin said, "I don't know where I'd be without Medicaid."  Please help by doing your part!
 
To learn more about per capita caps and how they can hurt nursing home residents, other long-term care consumers and their families, go to our webpge on preserving Medicaid.

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