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Skilled nursing television ads cross the line
Published 10:00am Friday, May 13, 2011It is time for accurate information. The budget debate is not well served by utilizing half-truths and the emotions of the frailest.
One of the recent attempts to express a viewpoint is contained in the television ad paid for by a number of nursing home owners in Ohio.
The ad features the governor and concludes with the heart monitoring signal flat lining followed by a hand unplugging the heart monitoring machine and asking people to call the governor and their state senator.
This depiction crosses the line.
First and foremost, AARP advocates for the availability of a full complement of services for our older consumers in Ohio in need of long term care.
We are focused on ensuring high quality care for our older consumers in need of care, at a price they can afford and having those services provided where the consumer wishes to receive them.
While all older consumers cannot receive the care they need at home and some do need nursing home care, over 85 percent want to receive their care in their home.
Additionally Ohio is fortunate in that well over 70 percent of Ohioans needing long term care receive their care from family and friends and do not receive private pay or Medicaid assistance.
The budget being debated in the state legislature is certainly a challenge and a difficult test for our elected officials in Ohio.
The details and inner workings of Medicaid-funded long term care are confusing and complex. AARP has been educating and advocating for long term care services for our members for a number of years.
As a part of the lobbying process, it is important to inform the public on the complex issues contained in the state budget fairly and accurately so that the public better understands the issues which may have great impact on their lives.
Jane Taylor is the state director of AARP Ohio. She can be reached at (614) 222-1510 or jltaylor@aarp.org.
Noiseis you are wrong. The deficit has already been shown to be no where near the 8 billion claimed. The unemployment rate has dropped for 14 consecutive months, thanks in no part to Kascich. The economy is turning around, but if we allow Kascichs cronies to continue to make money from his ineptitude, we will be back in trouble. You do remember Kascich ran Lehman Bros. into bankruptcy. And you think he knows what he is doing? wow, sheeple.
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We could use someone like Kasich in the Whitehouse to kick more than the can down the road!!
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Actually Mick, Kasich is doing an excellent job. Ohio has a massive deficit that was known to the prior democratic administration. Instead of trying to balance the budget, they just relied on stimulus funds and kicked the can down the road.
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tb111960; My compliments on an insightful post. I have been rather disappointed in the performance of AARP in their representation of our older citizens. I have been a member for seventeen years and have just let my membership expire. Their primary focus appears to be, the sale of insurance of all types. I do realize, this is a very profitable racket. I am not that familiar with Kasich, but your description of him is less than positive. I first noticed him when he came to the fore as a Labor Union busting politician. He is definitely an individual I would prefer not to be my Governor. My sympathy to the state of Ohio.
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The bed tax should be repealed.
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The AARP has done a very poor job of advocating for the poorest and sickest of it’s membership for years.It is very clear that they side on the healthy senior at home at the cost of the sick elderly that have to rely on skilled care facilities to take care of them 24/7. Kasich’s proposal to reduce by 7% or more, on top of a doubling of the bed tax less than two years ago, is going to lead to these very sick seniors receiving inadequate care. Yet Kasich doesn’t care. He talks of quality and choice, yet provides no money for either. Actually he reduces money from both skilled nursing facilities and home health care. Skilled facilities get paid about $6.87 an hour to provide 24/7 care from Nurses, Nurse aides, Dietary, Housekeeping and Activity personnel. Passport pays an nurse aide $24 an hour and expects then to be in the house for 2 hours max. What about the other 22 hours the patient might need care? Too bad, not covered. Lets see, they get 3 times the pay rate and provide roughly 10% of the care and have very little supervision, if any. And if they don’t show, then what?
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