Medicaid cuts hurt most vulnerable

On April 1 our Washington legislators played possibly the cruelest April Fool’s joke on the most vulnerable elderly citizens by reducing Medicaid rates for nursing-home care. The Medicaid program funds the majority of residents living in nursing homes and the already low rates were reduced in April between 8 and 15 percent, with additional cuts slated for July.

Benson Heights Rehabilitation Center in Kent has been greatly impacted by these rate reductions. Benson Heights has a long history of providing quality care for mentally ill, medically compromised adults who don’t fit well into traditional nursing facilities. Twenty-four-hour-a-day nursing care, therapeutic diets, supplies, laundry and housekeeping services, activities, transportation, etc., is provided daily with the legislator’s expectation that it can all be done for less than $6.50 an hour. This is apparently the value our legislators are placing on providing care to our elderly who can no longer contribute to state coffers.

The residents who reside in nursing homes across the state are the same men and women who have built our country, fought our wars and raised many of us to who we are today. Many of them represent the most vulnerable and frail members of our community. These people do not deserve the horrible effects these rates will bring.

Please ask our elected officials to stop hurting the citizens who can no longer defend themselves.

Gary Miller

Benson Heights Rehabilitation Center, Kent

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