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Legislators must act now to save long-term care in Iowa
Grace Maitland, administrator of Grandview Heights Rehab and Healthcare, Marshalltown
Iowa’s legislature is contemplating the state’s budget right now, and they must significantly increase Medicaid reimbursement for long-term care facilities. The funding will keep long-term care local, benefiting families and communities. More than half of Iowans in nursing facilities rely on Medicaid for the cost of their care. Local providers are reimbursed for these costs, but in 2022 the Medicaid rate covered just 80 percent. The gap is unsustainable.
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In this editorial, IHCA President & CEO Brent Willett shares how a proposed inoperable and unfunded federal staffing mandate for nursing homes will only worsen the current workforce crisis and threaten the very foundation of our long-term care system. Iowa nursing homes have lost thousands of workers during the pandemic, and today the sector still has 10% less workforce than pre-pandemic. Finding staff to fill open positions has been excruciatingly difficult, especially in rural Iowa.
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