Nursing home giveaway must lead to new rules

[DemMomma4Sanders]

Source: The De Moines Register

on’t know anything about that,” Branstad told reporters at his weekly press conference. “This particular piece of legislation is not something that I recommended, or something that I was even aware of.”

Unfortunately, the governor’s professed lack of awareness didn’t prevent him from approving the measure a few weeks later. As a result, Iowa nursing homes and hospitals now stand to collect an additional $206 million annually — yes, annually — from the taxpayer-funded Medicaid health care program.

Mind you, this is not an additional payment for services rendered. It’s corporate welfare on an epic scale, intended simply to provide operators with a massive infusion of public cash to be spent on construction and renovation; technology and software; and undefined “quality improvement initiatives.”

The only remaining hurdles are approval by the federal Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, already granted in other states that have adopted similar programs, and the drafting of the state administrative rules that will detail the manner in which the money is doled out.

Read more: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/editorials/2016/06/05/editorial-nursing-home-giveaway-must-lead-new-rules/85352008/

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From 1973 to 2014, net productivity rose 72.2 percent," the Economic Policy Institute has found, "while the hourly pay of typical workers essentially stagnated—increasing only 9.2 percent over 41 years (after adjusting for inflation)."

CEO pay, in contrast, has continued to soar: As Lawrence Mishel and Alyssa Davis have observed, "From 1978 to 2014, inflation-adjusted CEO compensation increased 997 percent, a rise almost double stock market growth and substantially greater than the painfully slow 10.9 percent growth in a typical worker’s annual compensation over the same period."

But the Times noted another interesting and crucial point, one that is seldom discussed: Namely, the issue of what is often called corporate welfare.

While the conservative right is content to shame poor mothers for receiving federal assistance, rarely do they dare call, say, General Electric or Walmart "welfare queens," despite the fact that they receive enormous direct and indirect taxpayer subsidies year after year.

This is true for McDonald's, as well: The Times observes, "Through it all, taxpayers continue to pick up the difference between what fast-food workers earn and what they need to survive. An estimated $1.2 billion a year in taxpayer dollars goes toward public aid to help people who work at McDonald’s."

http://www.commondreams.org/views/2016/05/03/mcdonalds-corporate-welfare-moocher

[Hoyt]

1. Ever been in a nursing home or hospital with heavy Medicaid patient base? I cannot believe Sanders

supporters would get upset about more money for renovations, staff, quality improvement, systems to ensure care is delivered timely, etc., in nursing homes. Medicaid rates for nursing homes are unconscionably low in all states. I guess cutting nursing home benefits is part of Berners' single payer plan.

[DemMomma4Sanders]

2. The problem is the overhead and fraud.

How could you possibly twist this into an anti-sanders rant?

[kiri]

6. Nursing homes are a racket.

Nursing home corporations are masters of fraud and deception. The management pay themselves 6- and 7-figure incomes, while the CNAs make minimum wage. And high dividends to investors. One common trick is to set up dummy companies to provide food and supplies (toilet paper, depends, etc.). Then they pay these companies outrageous prices for the goods. And then they claim they are under-compensated. It's a racket.

[ileus]

3. Most nursing homes are dumps, their reimbursment barely pays the bills

and there's basically zip left over for renovations or improvements, their maintenance budget is there to cover emergency repairs.


My father skipped around 3 different local nursing home facilities a few years back and all of them were shitholes.


The writer is a dumbass, that knows nothing about healthcare...

[avaistheone1]

4. Sincere question...

Then where does the $1000+ dollars per day the nursing homes charge go to?

[Marthe48]

5. good question

My mother-in-law just went into a nursing home because of dementia. The first 2 months took her savings. We assigned her life ins. to a funeral home, so she she was penniless, didn't have a pot or a window. She then qualified for Medicaid. The cost of her care is $6000.00 +/month, doesn't include personal products, such as soap. The food is cheap food. Nicely made, but cheap. I heard one of the overworked aides complain to her co-worker that Aldi's cashiers make $14/hr and she is only making $10/hr. The nursing home has one of the best reputations in our area, and I can say a lot of good about Mom and her care. But I don't know where the money goes.

[ileus]

7. Wages and Benefits, Food, Maintenance, ect...

All the normal expenses faced with a business except with a bunch more government red tape. RN's aren't cheap, Dietitians aren't cheap, management isn't cheap, lawyers and insurance isn't cheap. Lawsuits are expensive...

The only thing cheap is MNA's and they stay long enough to train then move on to the hospital.




http://longtermcare.gov/costs-how-to-pay/costs-of-care/

http://money.cnn.com/2013/04/09/retirement/nursing-home-costs/

https://www.genworth.com/about-us/industry-expertise/cost-of-care.html

[Brickbat]

8. Why is an opinion piece in LBN?