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April 17, 2001
Illinois Medicaid Program Doesn't Cover Escalating
Costs for Nurse Aide Wages in Nursing Homes
(CHICAGO) -- Since a rate freeze in 1994, Medicaid
rates for Illinois nursing homes have not kept pace
with the rising costs of caring for our state's elderly.
One of the biggest reasons for these increases is the
wage scale for nurse aides, the single largest wage
cost center for Illinois nursing homes.
Wages for nurse aides have risen dramatically over
the past eight years. Wages to nurse aides have increased
during these years by an average of $2.33, constituting
a 33 percent increase in pay. The state's largest nurse
aide union has also just negotiated a three-year contract
for an additional 40 percent increase in wages and benefits.
On average, nurse aide wages comprise 22 percent of
a nursing facility's total costs.
Nurse aides provide 90 percent of the hands-on care
in a nursing home; they are truly the backbone of long
term care. However, there has been a dire shortage of
nurse aides in recent years, as fewer individuals are
choosing to go into nursing care in today's highly competitive
job market.
"We must recognize that the quality of care provided
to our state's elderly nursing home residents is dependent
on the caliber and number of staff members who care
for them on a daily basis," states Terrence Sullivan,
executive director of the Illinois Council on Long Term
Care. "It has become increasingly difficult for
nursing home providers to offer competitive wages and
benefits to attract nurse aides under our current Illinois
Medicaid reimbursement system."
Two current pieces of legislation address the disparity
between Medicaid funding and nursing home costs. Senate
Bill 608 remedies this situation by basing Medicaid
payments on current wages, not those from 1992. House
Bill 3538 also bases Medicaid payments on current wages.
In addition, it requires that the nursing component
of the Medicaid rate be based on current assessments
of resident health conditions and needs, and not resident
assessment levels from 1993.
The coalition that supports these two pieces of legislation
is made up of the state’s four largest professional
nursing home associations – the Illinois Council on
Long Term Care, Illinois Health Care Association, Life
Services Network of Illinois and the County Nursing
Home Association – as well as the state’s largest nursing
home employee union – the Service Employees International
Union, Local #4. Together they represent more than 54,000
professionals and caregivers serving
73,000 nursing home residents. The Catholic Conference,
Community Bankers Association and Metro Counties Association
also support these pieces of legislation.
Editor’s note: Original and digital versions of this
chart are available for publication.
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