Re: “What federal scrutiny of Medicaid spending means for Washington” (March 1, A1):
I’m very involved with the latest dialogue in Congress relating to the cuts to the federal Medicaid program.
Most information media studies don’t point out the influence of Medicaid cuts on long-term care companies for older individuals and other people with disabilities unable to work. Protection is commonly about households, youngsters’s companies and hospital funding, that are necessary points.
Nevertheless, a big portion of all Medicaid funds pay for long-term care companies. Medicaid funds pay for about 70% of all individuals dwelling in nursing houses. Within the state of Washington, we now have a well-managed long-term care system that provides customers and their households the choice of receiving wanted companies in a nursing house, assisted dwelling services, grownup household houses or in-home companies in a client’s own residence.
There at the moment are about 9,000 individuals paid by Medicaid in nursing houses and over 50,000 individuals dwelling in their very own house getting Medicaid-funded companies to satisfy their long-term wants in Washington state. All these long-term care companies are in jeopardy if Congress makes the reductions in Medicaid funding at present being mentioned.
Charles E. Reed, Olympia, former director, Washington State Getting older and Lengthy-Time period Care Administration
