The nursing-home industry is launching a multimillion-dollar ad buy and advocacy campaign this week in an effort to prevent more Medicare and Medicaid cuts once Congress comes back to Washington. The industry says previous Medicare and Medicaid cuts have already hampered nursing homes' ability to stay fully staffed and provide top-quality care. Further reductions — including cuts from the deficit-cutting supercommittee — would be devastating, industry groups argue.
Two industry groups are launching a TV ad campaign in eight states: Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New Mexico, Nevada, Virginia and Washington. The Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care and the American Health Care Association will also conduct a broader lobbying campaign beyond those states.
“This nationwide campaign aims to inform our lawmakers that additional cuts to skilled nursing and assisted living threaten access to quality care needed by America’s seniors and individuals with disabilities," said Mark Parkinson, president of the American Health Care Association. "It will also demonstrate that our sector is part of the solution to both rising health care costs and the need for local job creation.”
According to data recently released by Avalere Health, nursing homes have absorbed federal payment cuts in just the past two years that will add up to $128 billion over the next decade.
The text of the TV spot is below:
"I work as a rehabilitation nurse. I love what I do.
"In the last five years, nursing homes have absorbed billions in Medicare and Medicaid cuts.
"Even so, we’ve maintained high quality care. Now, there’s talk of more, deeper cuts.
"I understand the need for sacrifice. We’ve given our fair share, and more.
"But as a nurse who cares for her patients, I can tell you another round of deep cuts that target nursing homes simply goes too far."
(Source: The Hill)
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