Nursing Facility Administrator Speaks Against Bed Tax
Terry McGinnity, administrator of the Lodi Good Samaritan Center, a 91-bed skilled nursing facility, spoke against the proposed bed tax increase for nursing homes.
The governor has proposed a 2 percent Medicaid rate increase in each year of the biennial budget. McGinnity said that increase should be 5 percent.
The proposed 2 percent increase would be funded by a raise in the nursing home bed tax, from the current $75 per month to $101 per month in 2007-08 to $125 in 2008-09, according to Doyle's budget.
McGinnity said in 2005-06, his facility experienced a MA deficit of $500,000, a loss of about $25.50 per day for each of the 51 Medicaid residents they serve.
The Medicaid rate at the facility is $136 per day at the Lodi facility, while the rate a private pay resident pays is about $198 per day, McGinnity said.
"We therefore ask 27 percent of our residents, those who pay privately, to pay about $62 a day more for the same care received by the 64 percent of our residents who are Medicaid recipients," he said. "On top of that, these private pay residents are paying $75 a month in a nursing home bed tax and SB 40 suggests they pay $50 more per month in 2008-09. How is this really fair, and when can we expect it to stop?"
Labels: Arlington_Meeting, Bed tax, Joint Committee on Finance, Medicaid
