Seniors, caregivers in South Abington asking Congress to extend Medicare relief

Jul 28, 2010 — The Times-Tribune (Scranton, Pa.)

Erin L. Nissley

Jul. 28, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- Nursing home residents petition Congress

SOUTH ABINGTON TWP. -- About 50 local seniors and health care workers are hoping that a 10-foot-long piece of paper might help the state get about $850 million in Medicaid funds.

On Tuesday, a group of Abington Manor nursing home residents and their family members joined staffers to sign a giant petition urging Congress to extend the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage, or FMAP. The temporary increase was included in 2009's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, but Congress did not include the FMAP extension in the unemployment benefits bill passed last week.

The 2010-2011 state budget passed earlier this month counted on about $850 million from FMAP, according to Gary Tuma, spokesman for Gov. Ed Rendell. Mr. Tuma added that Mr. Rendell has been speaking with federal legislators but has received little indication that Congress plans to extend the program.

"We'll have to start addressing the deficit next week" with the state legislature, Mr. Tuma said. "Layoffs are a possibility. All areas of the state budget will be examined."

In addition to the affect FMAP has on the state budget, employees and residents of nursing homes are concerned about how the Medicaid funding cut will affect their ability to operate.

Abington Manor administrator Mike Moran said Tuesday that about 60 percent of the 120 patients who live at the nursing home rely on federal assistance to pay for their care. Even if the extension of the medical assistance funding is passed, there is still a $5,000 gap between what it costs each year to care for a resident and what Medicaid pays for each patient's care, he said.

Because nursing homes are regulated by both the state and the federal government, funding cuts to Medicaid do not mean nursing homes can lay off staff or scale back care. Instead, Mr. Moran said, nursing homes must find other ways to save, including cutting back employee benefits and salaries and deleting amenities like field trips and activities for residents.

"Year after year, we're dealing with decreased funding," Mr. Moran said. "Every year, we're trying to squeeze more out of every dime."

Both U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and U.S. Rep. Chris Carney, D-10, Dimock Twp., support extending FMAP. Mr. Casey sent a letter to Senate leaders Tuesday urging them to reconsider extending the program, spokesman Larry Smar said.

And Mr. Carney expressed his disappointment that the FMAP extension was not included in the bill passed last week.

"This assistance is critical for the most vulnerable families in our region, and hundreds of nursing and other jobs across the state are at stake," he wrote in an e-mail Tuesday.

Contact the writer: enissley@timesshamrock.com

Newstex ID: KRTB-0419-47390021