KSTX Town Hall: How Budget Cuts Could Affect Our Senior Population

Texas is currently mired with a $27 billion deficit. To balance the budget, the legislature is forced to dramatically cut funding for programs and services that impact the lives of all Texans.

One of the most notable reductions is included in HB 1, recently passed by the State House of Representatives. Contained in the bill is a 33 percent decrease in state Medicaid funding. The substantial cuts, totalling $13.7 billion in 2012 and 2013, will significantly reduce access to health care for 3.5 million of the state's most poor and vulnerable, including seniors requiring long term care.

According to the Center for Public Policy Priorities, 70 percent of Texans in nursing homes rely on Medicaid. Should the Medicaid funding reductions become law, the impact will reverberate to every corner of the state. Seniors reliant on Medicaid to alleviate nursing home costs will be placed in jeopardy. According to the Texas Health Care Association, the largest long term care association in Texas, thousands of nursing homes will be shuttered, forcing their residents out of their homes with few alternatives for the expensive round-the-clock care that many require.

The proposed Medicaid cuts may have consequences that are felt beyond the state's long term care industry and into the broad economy. The jobs of thousands of heath care providers are threatened, and families will have to make significant adjustments in their spending habits to accommodate the added health care costs for their elderly loved one. And with access to health care reduced, counties may bear the brunt of the costs as more seniors rely on emergency rooms for care instead of providers that focus specifically on their unique health care needs.

In total, Bexar County faces a loss of nearly $1.1 billion dollars in Medicaid funding in 2012 and 2013. The financial solvency of area nursing homes and the quality of care for their residents are put at risk, impacting the lives of families across San Antonio and the surrounding region.

The impact that state budget cuts may have on Bexar County's senior population will be the topic of discussion at the next KSTX Town Hall. Join us for a solutions-based conversation on the issue, and share your thoughts and concerns of how state Medicaid funding cuts will impact senior citizens, their families and their health care providers. TPR's Terry Gildea will moderated a forum with a panel that includes lawmakers, thought leaders and senior care advocates who will raise awareness about potential consequences of this critical funding issue.

Panelists

Dr. Martha Spinks — Director of Bexar Area Agency on Aging for AACOG
Dr. Lloyd Potter — Director, Institute for Demographic and Socioeconomic Research at UTSA
Alvin Loewenberg — President & CEO, Morningside Ministries in San Antonio

Note: State Rep. Roland Gutierrez will be unable to participate on our panel due to scheduling conflicts with the current state legislative session.

The KSTX Town Hall on Medicaid cuts and senior care is part of a month-long focus on Bexar County's senior population. Join us for SILVER SOLUTIONS: RESOURCES FOR LIVING LONG AND AGING STRONG, a free community event to showcase the broad spectrum of resources, services and opportunities that are specifically designed to assist those in later life age gracefully and remain physically and mentally active. Click here for full details.