Medicaid Cuts May Force Retirees Out of Nursing Homes
Medicaid cuts could force retired Americans out of nursing homes, as the federal insurance pays for the majority of the 1.4 million citizens living in facilities. As the Senate debates serious cuts to Medicaid as part of the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, states are considering how much they are willing to provide for nursing home coverage should their funding be more limited. States may permit nursing homes to require payment for part of the care provided or to limit the services and days on which care is provided. The Center for Medicare Advocacy is concerned that those wishing to utilize nursing home care may find it more difficult to qualify with the increased pressure on state funding. At present, 70m people are enrolled in Medicaid, with spending forecast to increase 6% annually on average to reach $650bn by 2027.

ORANGE, Va. — Alice Jacobs, 90, once owned a factory and horses. She has raised four children and buried two husbands.

But years in an assisted living center drained her savings, and now she relies on Medicaid to pay for her care at Dogwood Village, a nonprofit, county-owned nursing home here.

“You think you’ve got enough money to last all your life, and here I am,” Ms. Jacobs said.

Medicaid pays for most of the 1.4 million people in nursing homes, like Ms. Jacobs. It covers 20 percent of all Americans and 40 percent of poor adults.

On Thursday, Senate Republicans joined their House colleagues in proposing steep cuts to Medicaid, part of the effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Conservatives hope to roll back what they see as an expanding and costly entitlement. But little has been said about what would happen to older Americans in nursing homes if the cuts took effect.