NM Nursing Homes Need Belt Tightening

Santa Fe New Mexican - New Mexico nursing homes need $7 million to $8 million in additional state money to provide for the more than 5,600 individuals currently in their care, industry representatives told state lawmakers Wednesday. Linda Sechovec, executive director of the New Mexico Health Care Association, said during a meeting at the state Capitol that the industry intends to ask the Legislature for the cash during the 30-day legislative session that starts in January. New Mexico's 71 nursing homes find themselves in a budget crunch, in need of additional state dollars following a reduction in October in what Medicare pays the facilities, Sechovec and others said. Roughly 14 percent of the 5,644 patients in New Mexico's nursing homes in September were enrolled in Medicare, the federal health insurance program for the elderly and disabled. On Wednesday, state lawmakers and Gov. Susana Martinez's administration acknowledged the problem and appeared ready to talk about how to solve it, although there was a difference of opinion over where to find the extra dollars. Read full story here: News New Mexico

NM Nursing Homes Need Belt Tightening