State needs to raise Medicaid reimbursement rate by for long-term nursing home services

BY SCOTT LA RUE

The pandemic has driven renewed attention to the quality of nursing home services in the state.

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration has been at the forefront of this movement, creating an office entirely devoted to improving the delivery of long-term care. As chief executive of ArchCare, the health care ministry of the Archdiocese of New York, I appreciate the gover- imburses continuing-care organizations in the state. For not-for-profit health care systems such as the one I lead, which serve elderly, vulnerable and poor New Yorkers, the impact of this decision will be tremendous— and will have lasting ramifications on our ability to serve those most in need. That’s why I urge lawmakers to increase the state’s Medicaid reimbursement rate by 20%. nor’s support.

Some background: New York has one of the largest Medicaid reimbursement shortfalls in the country—approximately $80 per day per resident. It’s been more than 15 years since the base Medicaid rate has increased, and operating costs have increased exponentially in that time.

But now we need to address the most significant underlying issue facing our industry: raising the amount of money that providers of long-term care receive from Medicaid.

In April the state Senate, the Assembly and the governor’s office will decide on the rate that Medicaid re-

The pandemic only added to the financial stress for historically under-resourced not-for-profits, from the higher costs associated with hiring temporary staff to increasing wages for those on the front lines. Too many have been forced to close their doors.

ArchCare cares for more than 10,000 seniors and people with spe- cial needs and profound disabilities daily. The majority of them are struggling with economic insecurity and racial inequity. We’re able to ser ve them because of government subsidies through Medicaid.

Advancing health equity

If we as a society are going to make strides in advancing health equity and caring for the vulnerable, we need to address this fact: The primary and, in many cases, only source of revenue available to care for disadvantaged individuals pays $80 a day less than the actual cost to care for them.

Our mission is to provide every person who walks through our doors with exemplary care—to honor them as individuals and meet their physical, emotional and spiritual needs. Government leaders, the health care community and the families that entrust their loved ones to long-term-care organizations are aligned here. We all want quality, we all want more staffing, and we all want to care for the people most in need.

We can’t do it without proper funding.

Unless there is action to address the chronic gap in Medicaid rates, the result, as unintentional as it may be, will be the loss of high-quality health care services by those who need them most. The national conversation to date has focused on oversight and regulation. Though those elements are important pieces of the puzzle, there is a marked lack of discussion about the inadequacy of the Medicaid rate and how it affects staffing and quality.

This is a gap we cannot overcome on our own. Thousands of good people across the state—doctors, nurses, social workers and other caregivers—come to work every day with clear intentions to do the right thing. We want to ensure that people are cared for and that their loved ones can rest easy. We just need help to do it. ■

Scott La Rue is president and chief executive officer of ArchCare, the Archdiocese of New York’s nursing home network.