[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 38 (Wednesday, March 21, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E415-E416]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      SUN CHRONICLE IS RIGHT ON THE MONEY REGARDING NURSING HOMES

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                           HON. BARNEY FRANK

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 21, 2001

  Mr. FRANK. Mr. Speaker, on Saturday, March 10, an editorial in the 
Sun Chronicle, published in Attleboro, Massachusetts, accurately 
analyzed one of the major causes for the difficulties we are facing in 
providing decent nursing home care. As the editorial notes, ``the main 
problem can be traced back the Balanced Budget Act of 1997.'' As the 
Sun Chronicle editorial writers note, today, ``patients sit neglected 
in nursing homes, . . . meanwhile the federal and state governments--
both enjoying budget surpluses--pay the nursing homes less than it 
costs to take care of patients.''
  It is disgraceful in this wealthy nation for us to allow this 
situation to continue. We allocate far too little of our great wealth 
to pay the hard working people who provide essential nursing home 
services, and the consequence is that we do not provide these services 
nearly as well as we should. I was delighted to read this forceful, 
thoughtful, persuasive editorial in the Sun Chronicle and I ask that it 
be shared here.

                [From the Sun Chronicle, Mar. 10, 2001]

              Nursing Home Neglect in an Age of Surpluses

       What's wrong with this picture?
       Patients sit neglected in nursing homes, wounds soaking 
     through bandages, food growing cold before feeding help 
     arrives, sheets smelling of urine. Administrators can't fill 
     aide positions and nurses leave for higher-paying jobs.
       Meanwhile, the federal and state governments--both enjoying 
     budget surpluses--pay the nursing homes less than it costs to 
     take care of patients.
       This fractured picture is all too real, as the Sun 
     Chronicle's Rick Thurmond reported in last Sunday's edition.
       The only thing that explains this unconscionable situation 
     is politics--and only politics can fix it.
       The main problem can be traced back to the Balanced Budget 
     Act of 1997, enacted to counteract federal deficits and 
     eventually bring the budget into balance.
       Thanks to the surging economy, that day arrived far sooner 
     than expected, and now such a big surplus is projected that a 
     major tax cut is supported by both parties.
       The Medicare cuts in the Balanced Budget Act, while 
     softened last fall, continue--placing nursing home companies 
     in an impossible position.

[[Page E416]]

       The government pays for 80 percent of nursing home 
     patients. In Massachusetts, Medicaid provides about $130 a 
     day for patients, while the costs are about $150.
       The result is such low salaries that the homes have 
     difficulty keeping aides and professionals alike, with a 
     direct impact on patient care and comfort.
       But even keeping salaries low isn't doing it for nursing 
     homes. A number have closed, including Sheldonville Nursing 
     Home in Wrentham and Van Dora Nursing Home in Foxboro. One-
     fourth of the state's nursing homes face bankruptcy.
       Obviously, the answer is money, and the money is there. The 
     question is whether it will be a priority.
       Local congressman James McGovern and Barney Frank voted 
     against the Balanced Budget Act and have fought to restore 
     Medicare cuts. We hope the next federal budget, drawing on 
     the burgeoning surplus, will do more for a vulnerable elderly 
     population than have recent budgets.
       At the state level, a small step has been taken in approval 
     of two years of wage supplements for nursing home workers. 
     Another state bill has been introduced to boost nursing home 
     reimbursements, but the sponsor has expressed concern that 
     the state income tax cut approved by voters last year will 
     make funds hard to come by.
       Obviously, the state tax cut and the coming federal tax cut 
     will increase competition for funding but they should not 
     prevent it.
       The sorry picture of nursing home care today can be 
     improved. The means are there. What's needed is the will.

     

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