Nursing care

Friday, March 12, 2010

As a tool for closing the budget deficit, the state is debating whether to increase the nursing facility quality assessment.

When first implemented, this assessment was characterized as a way to increase funding for nursing home residents by leveraging more federal dollars. However, after years of budget cuts, it has become more of a liability for nursing facilities and their residents.

By increasing this assessment, almost one-third of nursing facilities in Maryland will have fewer dollars to provide care to their residents. Many of the nursing facilities in Southern Maryland will be negatively affected by this increase, including in Charles County.

Those hurt most by this proposal are those elderly people who are using their own money to pay for their nursing care. Legislators should not endorse any program where one-third of an industry is disproportionately harmed. Legislators should vote "no" to this proposal. It is bad for nursing facilities and bad for their residents.

Bud Zimmerman, La Plata

The writer is the president and CEO of CCNRC Family of Care, formerly Charles County Nursing & Rehabilitation Center.