Is Warehoused Long-Term Care Imminent?

For those who refuse to plan responsibly for long-term care, the nightmare of warehoused care that I think is a certainty in years to come, may be a very unpleasant reality sooner than I thought.

The July 29, 2011 edition of McKnights Long-Term Care News reports that Medicare payments to nursing homes would be trimmed by 11.1% beginning Oct. 1, under a corrective proposal the federal government issued.

The call for reduced funding comes amid reports that providers have been paid more than $2 billion above federal projections since a new payment system took effect late last year.

The recalibration will result in a reduction to skilled nursing facility payments of $4.47 billion or 12.6%, according to CMS. However, that drops to an 11.1% cut when offsetting increases are factored in.