Newswire/ -- The Louisiana Nursing Home Association (LNHA) today said that while gratified of last week's passage in Congress of Medicaid relief for Louisiana patients and providers, it represents simply a starting point for a state debate regarding the urgent need for the Louisiana to adjust Medicaid nursing home reimbursement rates in accordance with state law and the state Medicaid plan.
"We applaud the Governor for taking head on the need for levee board reform and other challenging policy matters that will not be easily addressed, and that have no easy answers," stated Joe Donchess, Executive Director of LNHA.
"Nevertheless, we intend to keep a strong focus on the fact Louisiana's Medicaid rates remain the lowest in the nation - approximately $4 per hour, per patient -- and below that mandated by the state Medicaid plan.
"Nursing home labor costs have risen by as much as 80 percent in some areas of the state in the hurricanes' aftermath, and the high demand for complex care among our least ambulatory, sickest seniors has placed Louisiana's over-stressed long term care infrastructure in critical condition," Donchess warned.
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