Medicare Compliance & Reimbursement

The Bush administration's proposal of five year $24 billion cuts to Medicare's nursing home benefit is being strongly opposed by the general public, states a new national survey conducted by Zogby International for the American Health Care Association (AHCA). According to the survey, nearly 63 percent of likely voters oppose the cut and almost half "strongly oppose" the administration's proposal.

Of those surveyed, 56.9 percent of Democrats, 47.1 percent of Independents and 31.3 percent of Republicans vehemently oppose the proposal. Moreover, 61 percent of the total sample said that they would not re-elect their U.S. Representative if he or she voted for the administration's budget that includes the Medicare cuts.

"This new poll, coming at a critical time in the budget process, shows strong bipartisan opposition to the Medicare cuts contained in the administration's budget plan," said Bruce Yarwood, president and CEO of AHCA.

According to Zogby, the top-line poll results are:

Sixty-three percent of total respondents oppose the cuts and freezes for the Medicare nursing home benefit and out of these 45 percent of individuals say they strongly oppose such cuts.

Almost half of the respondents think there would be a negative impact on the quality of care for seniors if this proposal is approved. 12 percent say they think those changes "could force seniors to relocate many miles from family and friends."

Seventy-three percent of the respondents say they would support the presidential candidate who will not implement the proposal. They feel that the proposal would lead to a loss of jobs and less quality care, and could make it difficult for seniors to find a nursing home close to friends.