Senior Citizen News Article
Advocates rally to preserve seniors' long-term care funds
Advocates rally to preserve seniors' long-term care funds
Locke budget proposes cuts
AMY ROLPH
THE OLYMPIAN
About 200 long-term health care providers and seniors citizens assembled on the Capitol steps Tuesday in response to former Gov. Gary Locke's 2005-07 budget proposal, which would cut funding to nursing facilities.
The demonstrators' message was printed on their signs: "Save our seniors."
Budget cuts are too deep, Carmen Steiner told the crowd. She is an administrator at Bessie Burton Sullivan, a skilled nursing residence operated by Seattle University.
"My job is becoming more challenging every day because I cannot continue to provide (residents) with the staffing ratio they require," she said.
Pay rates for caregivers also have suffered, Steiner said.
Without new taxes, long-term health care funding under Locke's plan would experience a $37 million cut, according to the Washington Health Care Association and the Washington Center for Assisted Living, which coordinated Tuesday's rally.
Including the loss of federal matching funds, the cuts could amount to $75.2 million.
Gov. Christine Gregoire eased eligibility requirements for Medicaid last month at an estimated $33 million cost to the state and federal government during the next two years.
Locke recommended a nearly $600 million tax increase to pay for programs such as Medicaid in the face of an estimated $2.2 billion budget deficit.
Setting priorities
Providing for the state's most vulnerable adults has to be a greater priority, Rep. Brendan Williams, D-Olympia, said in addressing the crowd.
A crisis in long-term care won't be avoided without additional funds, Williams said. Rep. Dawn Morrell, D-Puyallup, urged the crowd to ask legislators to raise taxes to pay for programs.
Benjamin Burge, a caregiver at Beehive Retirement Center in McCleary, said he's worried about what could happen if funding doesn't come through.
"A lot of these (seniors) can barely afford to be where they are," he said after the rally.
When it comes to politicians, talk is cheap, said Wenatchee Rep. Mike Armstrong, the deputy minority leader in the House.
"I understand what you're up against," he told them. "But that does not mean you can let me off the hook."
Source: The Olympian
Senior Citizen Aticles | Long Term Care (LTC)
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