A bill that would eliminate proposed cuts to the Medi-Cal reimbursement rates for some skilled nursing facilities – such as Mabie Northside and Mabie Southside in Hollister – has passed the State Assembly.
Assemblyman Luis Alejo proposed AB 900 after he had heard concerns from Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital regarding proposed state budget cuts to the Medi-Cal reimbursement rate, which would likely require the hospital to close the associated nursing facilities.
The Assembly bill was approved with a unanimous vote before it moved to the Senate.
“Hospital-based nursing facilities care for the most vulnerable seniors and are often the only option for seniors with specialized medical or behavioral needs living in rural areas,” said Alejo, in a press release. “The proposed cuts to Medi-Cal reimbursement rates will force a majority of them to close or reduce services, which would jeopardize essential medical care and services for seniors and their families. This bill would restore Medi-Cal reimbursement rates to levels adequate to continue to provide quality care.”
The 2013-14 budget proposal from Gov. Jerry Brown did not eliminate the reimbursement reduction, which some officials say would decrease the rate by as much as 25 percent.
“If these cuts are implemented, access to care for thousands of elderly, frail patients will be compromised, and some rural or safety net hospitals may be forced to close,” said C. Duane Dauner, president and CEO of the California Hospital Association.
At the two skilled nursing facilities associated with Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital, Mabie Northside and Mabie Southside, about 75 percent of patients in both facilities have Medi-Cal insurance. The per-day rate for the facilities is $409 per patient, but the state approved a 10 percent rate reduction for reimbursement in 2011. The rate has not gone into effect because two agencies had been challenging the reimbursement reduction in courts.
According to Jan Emerson-Shea, the vice president of external affairs for the California Hospital Association, the rates approved in 2011 were based on reimbursement rates from 2008-09 – which means the reduction could be close to 25 to 30 percent for some facilities.
“It wouldn’t cover our cost of daily care,” said Frankie Gallagher, the director of marketing for Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital in Hollister and a Free Lance editorial board member, when the bill was first proposed in April. “We are extremely concerned with the outcome of this and something needed to be done. We needed someone in our corner. … We are thrilled we have someone who understands the needs of the community and the devastating impact it would have.”
