LeadingAge California Participates in Cultural Exchange

Joanne Handy at Air Force Village West with a group of senior living executives from Beijing, Shanghai and Changzhou. The Chinese delegation are participating in a week long training in senior living operations with the staff at Air Force Village and its CEO, James Melin.

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LeadingAge California Advances VA Medical Foster Homes

LeadingAge California is sponsoring AB 559 (Gordon) to ensure the VA is able to bring Medical Foster Homes to California. Watch this touching video from AARP for a glimpse into the lives of the veterans MFHs serve. Contact Eric Dowdy (edowdy@aging.org) to see how you can support AB 559.

Celebrating the Life of Toby Osos

Causes advocating for justice, fairness and opportunity lost an eloquent spokesperson at the passing of Toby Osos on June 29, 2012. She was 92. Her life was a tapestry of threads bound together by the political and social issues she championed since the end of WWII.  Toby was active in — and the co-founder of some — organizations, from the empowerment of women, support for the Democratic Party, to her life-long devotion to racial justice, Toby was known as a stalwart, outspoken, action-driven volunteer and activist.   Recent recognitions of that were the 2011 YWCA Racial Justice Award and the 2012 Resident of the Year Award by Aging Services of California. 

LTC Providers Across the Nation Urged to Contact Congress

LeadingAge is asking members to contact their congressional representatives today to prevent cuts to Medicare Reimbursement for bad debt. Medicare reimreimbursements for bad debt could be cut under a proposed provision in the Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011 (H.R. 3630), legislation currently being finalized by Congress.

You can help by avoid these cuts by calling 866-876-6286 and telling your legislators oppose cuts to Medicare reimbursements to nursing homes and providers of other long-term services and supports. 

What to tell Congress

1. Don’t put Medicare cuts to nursing homes or other long-term care providers into H.R. 3630.
    
2. I am especially concerned about proposed cuts in Medicare payments to nursing homes that cover the losses from uncollectible bad debt.
    
3. This proposal has no justification. Most bad debt results from states’ refusal to cover copayments and other beneficiary responsibilities for nursing home residents who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid.
    
4. Nursing homes have no recourse against states that refuse to cover these costs.
    
5. Cuts to reimbursement for bad debt would add to other significant cuts nursing homes and other providers already have experienced. Medicare payments to nursing homes were cut by 11% this year. Medicaid payments, which cover the vast majority of nursing home residents, have been cut back substantially in most states.
    
6. We cannot absorb more cuts. Enough is enough.

We strongly oppose this provision and we are urging Congress exclude it in the bill’s final language. The aging-services field has already seen tremendous cuts to Medicare and Medicaid. 

Enough is enough.

Social Media Campaigns

Below are some of the messages that you can share via social media.

Facebook and LinkedIn
You can share our this page on your LinkedIn or Facebook pages: http://www.leadingage.org/call_congress.aspx 

Twitter
You can post a tweet about the call-in. We encourage you to create your own (please include #MedicareCuts), or use 1 of the tweets below:

Example Tweets: 

• Let’s protect #LTC providers from #MedicareCuts based on bad debt. Join the @LeadingAge call-in 866-876-6286 http://bit.ly/pMgBR5 
• Today we’re joining @LeadingAge in telling Congress to avoid #MedicareCuts for bad debt: 866-876-6286 http://bit.ly/pMgBR5 

Enough is enough! Call-In to Congress this Week

Larry Minnix, President & CEO  of LeadingAge is urging all members to call their elected officials on Congress this week. Call today – the number is (855) 218-2109

States Across the Nation Asking for Compassionate Budget Deliberations

At a time when the nation if facing the largest surge of older adults in its  history, government programs that care for the elderly are being slashed with reckless abandon. As the fate of California’s Adult Day Health Care (ADHC) program is being considered by Governor Jerry Brown this evening, families, caregivers, and advocates are fighting to keep remnants of a program that has kept thousands out of institutions. Our colleagues in Minnesota have put together a brief video that encourages us all to to reevaluate our priorities as a nation.

Governor Vetoes Legislative Democrat’s Budget