EDITOR: The symptoms are eerily familiar: lack of long-term
planning excessive government regulation; demand exceeding supply,
price controls, an unstable economic model, rapidly increasing
cost, shortages and lack of investment into a speculative and
unprofitable industry.
EDITOR:
The symptoms are eerily familiar: lack of long-term planning excessive government regulation; demand exceeding supply, price controls, an unstable economic model, rapidly increasing cost, shortages and lack of investment into a speculative and unprofitable industry.
But instead of black outs, this crisis will kill many of California’s frail elderly. Rather than a power crunch, California families will lose access to quality nursing care for their loved ones. And just like the energy crisis, this crisis will cost the taxpayers of the state of California millions of dollars to repair.
California is about to pull the plug on nursing homes in California. For years, California nursing homes have been forced to care for the elderly at below cost. This chronic under-funding has resulted in the lack of construction of new facilities and no new capital being invested in the industry. Currently, 11 percent of California facilities are in bankruptcy. Recently, one of the largest nursing home chains in California has ceased paying rent to its landlords.
Now, the governor has proposed new cuts to California nursing homes of 15 percent with state Republicans adding cuts of additional 7 percent. According to Charlene Harrington of the University of California at San Francisco, the governor’s cuts alone will cause 88 percent of California’s nursing homes to have a negative margin. If the California cuts are implemented, nursing homes will close. Residents and workers will be displaced. The transfer trauma associated with the transfer of the elderly means that many will die. Families will lose access to quality care for their loved ones.
Ironically, the proposed budget cuts will actually cost the state more money than it saves. The state will lose out on the matching federal funds now provided for nursing care. Closed nursing homes will force expensive acute care hospitals to take care of the back-up of elderly patients. The state will be forced to operate bankrupt facilities at a substantial loss. For example, the state is now operating a bankrupt facility in Burlingame at a loss of $477,000 per month.
The tragic loss of life, family trauma and the fiscal hemorrhaging resulting from the proposed cuts to California nursing homes will make the energy crisis seem like a picnic. Who will provide the care? Think about it.
Gerald E. Hunter,
executive director, Gilroy Healthcare and Rehab Center
