THE HOUSE BUDGET WILL DESTROY CARE
Medicaid Reimbursement Must be Improved
Nursing home caregivers and all the staff who support quality care -- activities professionals, dietary, housekeeping, and maintenance workers -- are there for us, but Medicaid funding cannot keep pace with wage increases. Through February, federal data showed hourly wages for non-supervisory workers in long-term care facilities up 36% since February 2020, which is staggering. The cost of food has risen by a similar amount as have costs for medical supplies and equipment, which now face tariff-drive increases too.
Yet the New Hampshire House would actually cut Medicaid rates in the budget to take effect July 1.
Urge legislators to provide at least as much nursing home funding as Gov. Ayotte proposed.
Medicaid is a Precarious Funding Source for Our Most Vulnerable
Most nursing home residents in New Hampshire have their care paid for by Medicaid, and delays in the completion of Medicaid applications or processing can result in a nursing home provider carrying hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid bills. Senate Bill 131 would address this.
The Department of Health and Human Services has worked collaboratively with providers to address this issue, because there's no margin for waiting. According to a May 2024 report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, New Hampshire nursing homes had New England's second-worst median operating margin (at -5.2%) in 2022-23. Financial distress can prevent nursing homes from taking in those awaiting hospital discharge, and create waiting lists for needed care.
Policymakers must shore up this vital safety net!