Contact: Rob Ostrander 202.224.5721 Rich Chrismer 202.224.4812 Jeff Connor 202.225.4404
Thursday, March 4, 2004

WASHINGTON, DC Missouri Senators Kit Bond and Jim Talent today demanded that federal officials stop holding hostage critical funding for Missouri's nursing facilities. At issue is the federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services' refusal to approve a State Plan Amendment until Missouri agrees to end its lawful use of Intergovermental Transfer (IGT), an important funding mechanism for Missouri nursing facilities.

"Holding this amendment hostage over a lawful and unrelated matter will compromise access to vital resources critical to providing care for the 25,000 Medicaid patients that reside in Missouri nursing facilities," wrote Bond and Talent to CMS acting Director Dennis Smith.

CMS has informed the state of Missouri that the State Plan amendment to improve Missouri's Medicaid reimbursement to nursing facilities will be disapproved unless the state agrees to end all Intergovernmental Transfers made to the state by government-owned nursing facilities.

"What we have here is a case of federal blackmail," said Bond. "CMS is demanding that the State of Missouri cease using a funding mechanism that has already been approved by CMS for this year through the terms and mechanisms established in the Missouri Partnership Plan. It is this kind of game-playing that the Missouri Partnership Plan was designed to prevent.”

“This is unacceptable,” said Sen. Talent, a member of the Special Committee on Aging. “The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services assured Missouri seniors they would have access to this funding. Now they’ve set up obstacles in an attempt to prevent the money from going to the seniors. Sen. Bond has spent months negotiating an agreement on behalf of our seniors and CMS should keep its promise.”

Missouri currently reimburses nursing facilities at a rate averaging $20 per patient, per day less than the cost of caring for those patients; this plan amendment would increase reimbursement for patient care on average $4.32 per day. These are funds that are sorely needed to provide the quality care we expect and demand for nursing facilities.

"We find the actions of CMS in this matter inconsistent with both language and the spirit of this agreement (the Missouri Partnership Agreement)," wrote the Senators to CMS. “We urge your timely approval."