The American Health Care Association and the National Center for Assisted Living called Thursday for the swift passage of a bill that would place a one-year moratorium on seven new Medicaid regulations, some of which are scheduled to take effect over the next couple months.
Dr. Stuart Shapiro, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Health Care Association (PHCA), testified before the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee. He called the regulations “hard-hearted, short-sighted and contrary to the needs of our nation’s seniors.” The Medicaid provisions would reduce payments to county nursing homes and public providers; subject states to more rigid rules in the use of allowable provider taxes; and impose rehabilitative services reforms that could exclude some seniors from receiving the mental and physical “retraining” they need.
Shapiro said that these cuts do not reflect an adequate understanding of the system and would have an adverse affect on seniors. He urged Congress to pass the bill to halt the cuts. Reps. John Dingell (D-MI) and Tim Murphy (R-PA) introduced the bill last month.
