Rep. Linda Sanchez on Medicaid Cuts and Healthcare Access

Medicaid's Role in Long-Term Care

• 💡 Medicaid is a critical funding source for long-term care, with three out of every five nursing home residents relying on it.
• 🎯 Women disproportionately serve as unpaid caregivers, highlighting the need for support like the bipartisan Credit for Caring Act.
• 💰 The only affordable option for many working families to access long-term care is through Medicaid.

Proposed Medicaid Cuts and Their Impact

• ⚠️ Republicans are proposing an $880 billion cut to Medicaid to fund tax cuts for corporations and high-income earners.
• 📉 Such cuts would significantly impact nursing facilities, especially in states with a higher reliance on Medicaid (e.g., Alaska, Georgia, Louisiana, West Virginia).
• 🏥 Facilities may face closure or reduced admissions due to insufficient reimbursement and eligibility changes, affecting patient access to care.

Nursing Facility Staffing and Closures

• 🗣️ Citing a previous statement, the closure of rural nursing facilities is a significant concern, exacerbated by insufficient staffing.
• 📉 An $880 billion Medicaid cut is predicted to lead to the closure of many rural nursing facilities, impacting both the facilities and the patients they serve.

Post-Acute Care and Medicare Advantage

• ⏳ Patients experience long delays in post-acute care due to prior authorization practices by Medicare Advantage plans.
• 🏥 Unlike fee-for-service Medicare, Medicare Advantage plans require a lengthy approval process for patient admission to post-acute settings like IRFs.
• 📊 Approximately 40% of initially denied Medicare Advantage claims for post-acute care are overturned during the appeal process, indicating systemic issues with prior authorization.