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When Republican leaders in Congress decided to pull their controversial American Health Care Act on Friday, it was after they had heard from scores of nursing home managers and workers in towns like Balaton, Minnesota.
Colonial Manor of Balaton Nursing Home is an important part of the town of about 600 people located near Marshall. As Congress pondered legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act, management and workers at Colonial Manor sounded the alarm.
“The current plan could take away health care from thousands of Minnesota families and specifically harm nursing home residents in Balaton and all over Greater Minnesota,” said Peter Madel III, Chief Executive Officer of LSI Services, LLC. The nursing home is owned by the city of Balaton but is operated under contract with LSI.
Pam Moon, an employee of Colonial Manor and a member of SEIU Healthcare Minnesota, shared why as a care provider she was speaking out against cuts in care.
“I know the importance of good care for our residents, as someone who has been working here for six years,” Moon said. “In recent years we’ve seen investment in nursing home funding, and that investment has meant that the Minnesotans who need care are getting the care they deserve. Now Republicans in D.C. are talking about cutting health care and ending Medicaid as we know it, which may cause an unimaginable amount of harm on our residents.”
Similar joint statements were made by management and workers at Luther Haven Nursing Home in Montevideo, a city of about 5,200 residents located in western Minnesota.
In both cases, management and workers said they shared a common viewpoint about the legislation.
“The vast majority of our direct patient care staff is represented by the Service Employees International Union ‘SEIU’ Healthcare Minnesota and we’ve had disagreements in the past,” said Luther Haven Nursing Home administrator Jim Flaherty. “But one thing we do agree on is that the current health care plan being rushed through in Washington, D.C., is wrong for Minnesota.”
Flaherty, who was joined by SEIU Healthcare Minnesota organizer Julie Boots and workers at the facility, said the plan undermines both the federal Medicaid system and reforms made in Minnesota to provide adequate funding to long-term care in Greater Minnesota.
“This health care plan currently moving through Congress will end Medicaid as we know it, and may mean less care for seniors and people with disabilities,” Flaherty said. “The reduction in federal Medicaid money, by changing to a per capita Medicaid block grant system, could have serious impact on the newly created state nursing home reimbursement system. We strongly urge Minnesota Representatives to vote no on this bill and take the time to strengthen our health care system, not dismantle it and cause chaos for Minnesota families.”
After years of lobbying by both management and workers, the Minnesota Legislature recently overhauled the nursing home reimbursement system, ending the practice of providing more reimbursement benefits to Twin Cities metro area nursing homes. This leveled the playing field for Greater Minnesota nursing homes like Luther Haven and Colonial Manor.
At both facilities, workers have been able to get wage increases and managers have been able to recruit and retain quality employees, Boots said.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated the Republican bill would have resulted in 24 million fewer people having health insurance by 2026, compared to the Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare.”