Florida nursing homes are bracing for a cut in Medicare payments that takes effect Saturday, as they also worry about upcoming congressional negotiations aimed at cutting the federal deficit.
The Florida Health Care Association said Friday that the Medicare cuts, which were announced earlier this year, will cost the state’s nursing homes $331.8 million.
State lawmakers this spring also cut the industry’s Medicaid payments by $187.5 million.
It remains unclear how — or whether — a congressional budget “subcommittee” will agree on cuts to reduce the federal deficit. But nursing homes fear the negotiations, which stem from a fight this summer about extending the federal debt ceiling, will lead to further reductions for the industry.
“There comes a point in any sector when additional cuts are simply unsustainable,” Emmett Reed, executive director of the association, said in a prepared statement. “Long term care providers are at that tipping point, and we need our policymakers to understand the impact that cuts in funding have on our state’s seniors as these debt ceiling negotiations continue.”
