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Alert Alert
ALERT!!!
The most critical period in the Medicaid budget debate is beginning. The budget process was thrown off schedule by Hurricane Katrina; but hopes that the suffering of thousands of poor people would prove how much we need federal health care assistance were premature. Some congressional leaders are now calling for even deeper cuts in Medicaid and other social services programs to help pay for Katrina relief. Decisions are supposed to be made by October 28.
NCCNHR strongly – strongly – urges you to contact your members of Congress when we call on you over the next couple of weeks. Many groups in Washington and across the country are fighting Medicaid cuts, but NCCNHR’s members are among the few who can speak up for nursing home residents. If we don’t speak up, the only people with a voice in what happens to nursing home residents will be powerful members of Congress who are determined to cut Medicaid benefits and the nursing home industry, which is determined to protect itself.
In addition to being hurt by general reductions in federal Medicaid funds, nursing home residents have been specifically targeted to provide for $1.5 to $2 billion in Medicaid "savings." Proposals would make it harder for people to get Medicaid by instituting a five-year "lookback" at whether they had given away any money or other assets -- even a gift to a needy family member at a time when they were still able to help someone else. If they had, they could not get Medicaid until they had paid that amount for their care. NCCNHR believes this is a draconian way to deal with a minority of nursing home residents who have transferred funds deliberately to avoid Medicaid spenddown.
If You Are Coming to the NCCNHR Annual Meeting
Please plan to visit your Senators and Representatives' offices while you are in Washington. The closing plenary will be on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, October 19. NCCNHR has scheduled from 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. for you to have time to make those visits, but you can schedule other times if you need to.
Talking points will be provided, and NCCNHR staff will be available to help you locate your members' offices and answer questions. A Tuesday afternoon plenary will provide background on the Medicaid reform debate, and the Capitol Hill plenary will provide more guidance.
You can call ahead now to make an appointment by calling the Capitol Switchboard -- 202/224-3121 -- to be connected to your members' offices. Or you can make an appointment after you reach Washington.
Watch for Action Alerts! We will keep you informed and provide talking points and guidance.
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