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Care homes, elderly fear impacts of state cutbacks

By Munira Syeda

Appeal-Democrat.com, May 15, 2003

 

Richard and Helen Hewitt are both dependent on their Medi-Cal coverage, which makes it possible for them to live at Emmanuel Health Care Center in Yuba City. About two thirds of all nursing home residents have Medi-Cal benefits which may be affected by state budget cuts.

Deline Churchill, 73, has been living at Emmanuel Health Care Center in Yuba City for three years. She says everyone there is nice and her aide looks after her.

Churchill has been watching the news closely and feels the proposed budget cuts in the state Medi-Cal program may mean folding a few nursing home facilities.

"What about people who don't have anywhere to go?" Churchill asked. Even though she has two sons living in Florida and one daughter living in Auburn, she said she doesn't know if any one of her children will take her in.

Other nursing home residents and nursing home officials feel they are in the same situation. Gov. Gray Davis had originally proposed a 15 percent reduction in Medi-Cal reimbursements. On Wednesday, he added a 3.8 percent rate increase for Medi-Cal reimbursement on top of the 15 percent reduction in his revised budget proposal.

"Any cut in Medi-Cal funding is going to be devastating," said Kelley Queale, director of communications for California Association of Health Facilities, a nonprofit statewide organization for long-term care providers.

According to CAHF director of public affairs Betsy Hite, two-thirds of all nursing home residents are on Medi-Cal, and lower Medi-Cal funding impacts nursing homes and residents negatively. On average, each nursing home gets $120 per resident per day in Medi-Cal reimbursement, she said.

This is a flat rate for each resident whether the individual is on heavy or light medical care, Hite said. Nursing homes also get Medicare funds that match Medi-Cal dollars, so with lower Medi-Cal reimbursements, nursing homes will see less Medicare money as well, she said.

There are five nursing homes or skilled nursing facilities affiliated with the California Association of Health Facilities in the Yuba-Sutter area. Two of them are SunBridge Care Centers - the Marysville branch has 86 beds while the Yuba City facility has 59 beds, Live Oak Manor in Live Oak has 99 beds, Emmanuel Health Care Center in Yuba City has 151 beds and The Fountains, operated by Fremont-Rideout Health Group in Yuba City, has 99 beds.

Davis proposed a 15 percent cut but added a 3.8 rate increase for nursing home residents. Queale said what this means is that the governor recognizes that Medi-Cal shouldn't be cut, yet it's still being cut.

"It's a bit of a mystery for us how you can do both," Queale said.

A report released by University of San Francisco researchers on Monday says the 15 percent proposed budget cut in Medi-Cal reimbursement would push 694 nursing homes in California into severe financial crisis, even threatening some into closure.

Because of such financial hardships, UCSF researchers say, facilities may file for bankruptcy, cut staffing, turn away new residents or not be able to provide quality care to residents.

Donna Etchison-Marrs, administrator for Emmanuel Health Care Center, says she's been coping with the anticipated budget cuts "creatively." She usually likes to plan recreational activities for her staff and residents but ends up footing those expenses.

In honor of National Nursing Home Week this week, she helped pay for potlucks and a staff barbecue, she said.

"I don't know where the bottom line cuts are going to be," Etchison-Marrs said prior to Davis' announcement of revisions. "Fortunately, it's a corporation and there's always funds."

SunBridge Care Center spokeswoman Toni Graham said due to the lower Medi-Cal reimbursements, the company is negotiating to reduce leases on facilities they manage in the state. She added that none of the Yuba-Sutter facilities are threatened with closure.

Hite advocates for long-term care insurance similar to health and dental insurance offered by employers and said people need to move away from the idea of state- or federally-funded nursing programs.

"This is a health care system, that's truly, truly on the verge of collapse," she said.


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