AUSTIN, TX – The Texas Health Care Association has urged the state's federal lawmakers to ensure the interests of their oldest, most vulnerable constituents are protected as the reform debate escalates.

The association expressed concern that the size of funding cuts to Medicare-financed nursing home care as part of ongoing health reform negotiations could have a disastrous impact on the Texas Medicaid program – and the Texas seniors who depend upon it.

THCA officials said a new Medicare regulation promoted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and scheduled to go into effect on Aug.1 will have the impact of cutting Medicare-funded nursing home care by $16 billion over 10 years – in addition to any other funding reductions that are part of healthcare reform proposals now being considered.

"From the perspective of our patients and the caregivers who serve them, the new Medicare regulation, which is imminent, puts our sector in the precarious position of possibly absorbing a double-barrel hit – first with the Medicare regulation cut of $16 billion over 10 years, and then billions more as part of any broader reform package," said Tim Graves, president of the THCA.

"We have and will continue to support the badly needed health reforms that will benefit every Texan – but it will be essential for the Obama administration and Congress to ensure seniors' special care needs are not short-changed in the process," he added. "Our nation's already-strained Medicare system is used to patch the gaps in Texas' long-term care financing system caused by our chronically-underfinanced Medicaid program. It is essential for our federal lawmakers to view federal Medicare funding in conjunction with Medicaid, not in isolation, when considering how to craft a final bill."

On a health policy level, Graves noted that as the nature of Texas' nursing home patient population continues to evolve, federal and state policymakers should support efforts to facilitate nursing homes' ability to care for higher-acuity, post-acute Medicare beneficiaries.

"Nursing homes throughout our state have invested heavily in recent years to increase capabilities to admit, treat and return to home a growing number of patients requiring intensive rehabilitative care and care for patients with multiple chronic illnesses," he said. "In addition to cutting jobs and damaging our already fragile economy, Medicare cuts of the size possibly contemplated would inhibit our profession's continued investment in cost effective care – contrary to our state and nation's stated health policy objectives."

“There exists a direct correlation between adequate federal Medicare funding and the ultimate strength and viability of our state Medicaid program, patient care quality and the stability of the long term care workforce,” he said.