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Growing
importance of March 4 Texas Primary requires
2008 Presidential Candidates to better
address Eldercare financing issues
...Texas Health Care Association urges
Clinton, Obama, McCain, Huckabee to further
discuss, outline Long Term Care Platforms
AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 12
/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As Democratic
presidential candidate Hillary Clinton
begins her two-day Texas campaign swing
today to compete in the increasingly
important March 4 Texas primaries, the Texas
Health Care Association (THCA) urged the
major presidential candidates of both
parties to go beyond the discussion of
increasing Americans' health insurance
access, and to also include a needed
discussion on how to strengthen long term
care programs for the benefit of Texas' most
vulnerable population of seniors and
disabled citizens.
"With one in four
Texans lacking health insurance, expanding
access to health insurance is deservedly a
driving issue in this increasingly important
primary -- but it is also vital for
candidates of both parties to outline their
plans to protect our oldest, most vulnerable
seniors and disabled citizens, whose lives
depend upon Medicare and Medicaid being
adequately financed," stated Tim Graves,
President of THCA.
"As more Boomers enter
our retirement system, our residents and the
caregivers who serve them want to know
specifically what each candidate will do to
bolster Medicare and Medicaid financing in a
way that ensures we have the ongoing
capacity to provide quality care today as
well as tomorrow."
Graves said proposed
federal cuts to Medicare and Medicaid
contained in the Bush Administration's FY
2009 budget -- on top of Texas' already
over-burdened state Medicaid program -- will
create an even more problematic scenario for
the state's most vulnerable elderly and
disabled residents.
"With upwards of 60
percent of nursing home operating expenses
driven by labor costs, additional financial
pressures placed on facilities caused by
federal funding cuts will undermine
patients, and further destabilize our direct
care workforce," Graves continued.
In the wake of federal
efforts to reduce Medicare and Medicaid
funding, THCA is encouraging a broader
public debate surrounding long term care
financing issues, and why Texas' daily
Medicaid reimbursement rate has slipped to
49th in the nation, which, Graves observed,
does not have the capacity to meet the
growing complex care needs of Texas' rapidly
aging population.
While the average
national daily Medicaid rate per patient is
$153.83, the Texas rate is just $106.59
(49th), according to independent data from
the national accounting firm BDO Seidman,
and other sources.
Even on a regional
basis, he said, Texas is falling behind: New
Mexico ranks 30th nationally, at $137.24;
Oklahoma ranks 44th, at $116.84; Arkansas
ranks 47th, at $111.76; and Louisiana ranks
45th, at $115.00.
"We are committed to
solving these long term care financing
challenges in a collaborative, bipartisan
manner -- and we look forward to hearing
more on this front from the 2008
presidential candidates in the weeks ahead,"
Graves concluded.
Founded in 1950, the
Texas Health Care Association (THCA) is the
largest long term care association in Texas.
THCA represents a broad spectrum of long
term care providers and professionals
offering long term, rehabilitative and
specialized health care services. Member
facilities, owned by both for-profit and
non-profit entities, include nursing
facilities, specialized rehabilitation
facilities, and assisted living facilities.
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