HOUSE MEMORIAL 67

47th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2005

INTRODUCED BY

John A. Heaton

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT TO EXPLORE THE POTENTIAL FOR DEVELOPMENT OF A MEDICAID WAIVER FOR NURSING HOME SERVICES.

     WHEREAS, the population of New Mexicans over the age of sixty-five is growing and will almost double by the year 2020; and

     WHEREAS, due to medical advances, people are living longer, but not necessarily healthier, lives; and

     WHEREAS, the annual cost of nursing home care for a medicaid beneficiary is nearly twenty-six thousand dollars ($26,000); and

     WHEREAS, the medicaid program in New Mexico covers the cost of providing nursing home care to eligible individuals in need of that level of care; and

     WHEREAS, the medicaid program currently covers more than seven thousand persons who reside in nursing facilities; and

     WHEREAS, the monthly private cost of nursing home care in New Mexico is estimated to be in excess of three thousand dollars ($3,000) per month; and

     WHEREAS, the private cost of nursing home care is unaffordable for most people and many become impoverished paying for nursing home care privately; and

     WHEREAS, when private sources of funding are exhausted, many nursing home residents qualify for medicaid coverage, and their care then becomes the responsibility of the state; and

     WHEREAS, the human services department has not re-based the reimbursement rate for nursing home care to keep pace with the rising cost of care, and the cost to private paying nursing home residents has been raised to compensate for this inadequate medical reimbursement; and

     WHEREAS, an estimated seventy-eight percent of nursing home beds in New Mexico are occupied by medicaid-eligible persons; and

     WHEREAS, more than seven percent of the entire medicaid budget is spent in caring for persons residing in nursing homes; and

     WHEREAS, nursing homes are an essential part of the continuum of care for aged and disabled persons; and

     WHEREAS, an environment in which people can receive the level of care needed in the most appropriate setting includes care provided in nursing homes; and

     WHEREAS, the rising cost of nursing home care can reasonably be assumed to present an ongoing challenge to the nursing home industry, the state and individuals in need of such care;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the human services department be requested to explore the potential for development of a medicaid waiver for nursing home services; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the impact on private paying residents of inadequate reimbursement to nursing homes for medicaid residents be addressed through the waiver; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the waiver seek to minimize the impact of the daily bed surcharge imposed on private paying residents; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the human services department address reimbursement for nursing facilities, affordable levels of care for individuals and appropriate cost-reimbursement measures for the medicaid program; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the human services department report its findings and recommendations to the interim legislative health and human services committee at its October 2005 meeting; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary of human services.

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