Texas’ Medicaid low reimbursement rates may be negatively impacting needy seniors who rely on Medicaid to pay for their long term care.
A news outlet in Houston recently reported that Medicaid reimbursement rates in Texas, the second lowest in that nation, have caused an assisted living community near Dallas to shutter its doors.
Needy Seniors in Texas Negatively Impacted
Medicaid is the national health insurance program for low-income Americans, and pays for the nursing home care and assisted living care of seniors without the means to pay for themselves. In all states Medicaid can be used to pay for nursing home care, but only some states provide assisted living care through Medicaid. Texas is one of those states, but operators report that the daily reimbursement rate is not enough to keep communities afloat.
This comes at a time, Medicaid providers point out, when Texas’ economy is booming, and they’ve asked the state to raise those rates to allow them to continue to serve needy seniors. George Linial, President and CEO of LeadingAge Texas, an association of nonprofit care providers said, “At this time, when the Texas economy is one of the strongest in the nation, it is urgent that our legislators be put on notice that our elderly parents residing in nursing homes should not continue to be funded at the second lowest Medicaid rate in the country.”
The Medicaid reimbursement rate is significantly lower than what’s received from residents who are paying privately, which could disincentivize providers from working with Medicaid.
We’ll keep you posted about further developments, and welcome your comments below.
