FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 19, 2002
Four Thousand Nursing Home
Employees March Through Springfield
to Protest $110 Million Medicaid Cut
(Springfield, IL) – More than 4,000 health care
employees from throughout Illinois will march through
downtown Springfield on Tuesday, November 19, to protest
the $110 million budget reduction in Medicaid funding to
nursing home residents, that went into effect July 1.
The march will begin at Capitol Avenue at 1:15 p.m. and
end at the steps of the State Capitol Building by the
Lincoln Statue with a rally at 2:00 p.m.
"A reduction of $110 million can only mean fewer
jobs and reduced benefits. This will jeopardize the
services and care for the very sick – who need more
care, not less," said Terrence Sullivan, Executive
Director of the Illinois Council on Long Term Care.
"The state is turning its back on its most frail
and vulnerable residents. All states are facing budget
difficulties, but Illinois is only one of two states out
of 50 that balances its budget by cutting services to
the elderly."
Illinois has one of the ten largest economies in the
country, yet, with this cut to Medicaid, Illinois ranks
49th in the nation for funding to nursing
home residents, 27 percent below the national average.
The march kicks off with speeches at the Prairie
Capital Convention Center at 12:30 p.m. Speakers include
Springfield mayor Karen Hasara (invited); Senator-elect
Rev. James Meeks, I-15, of Chicago; Morris Esformes of
EKS Management, Chicago; Bob Hedges of HI Care
Management, Springfield; and Steve Nussbaum of
Winchester House, Libertyville. Margaret Blackshere,
President of the Illinois AFL-CIO, representing the
Labor Alliance of Illinois, will be introducing Rev.
Meeks.
Attendees at the 2:00 p.m. rally will include Senator
Frank Watson, R-55, of Greenville; Senator Barack Obama,
D-13, of Chicago; Representative Dan Rutherford, R-87,
of Chenoa; Representative Lou Lang, D-16, of Skokie;
Sister Jeanne Marie Toriskie, Franciscan Sisters of
Chicago; Bill Kempiners, Executive Director of the
Illinois Health Care Association; and Jean Morris,
daughter of a nursing home resident.
An afternoon press conference at 2:30 p.m. in the
State Capitol Building will feature statements by
representatives of Illinois’ nursing home
associations. Speakers include Terrence Sullivan,
Executive Director of the Illinois Council on Long Term
Care; Dennis Bozzi, Executive Director
The Medicaid cut is the equivalent – in just one
year – of 5,500 nursing home caregiver salaries.
Because 79 percent of all nursing home costs are
labor-related, the $110 million cut to Medicaid will
inevitably lead to thousands of nursing home staff
losing their jobs as Illinois nursing homes struggle to
stay afloat. With fewer staff to provide care, the
health and well-being of the state's nursing home
residents are in peril.
"Nursing home employees are advocates for the
elderly who cannot take care of themselves nor speak for
themselves," said Dennis Bozzi, Executive Director
of Life Services Network. "No one knows the needs
of their clients better than the daily caregiver. That's
why these employees are coming together on November 19th
– to rally on behalf of residents who are being hurt
by this funding cut."
Nursing home professionals and caregivers are caring
for more complex cases and sicker residents than a
decade ago. With more expensive technology and more
sophisticated staff, the cost of caring for nursing home
residents has risen twice as fast as what the state pays
through Medicaid. Over the same period, costs of caring
for residents have risen 61% while Medicaid rates have
increased by less than half of that amount. This
pressure affects jobs, wages, benefits and care for
residents.
Buses of nursing home caregivers and their families
will be coming to Springfield from Rockford, Chicago,
Elgin, Aurora, Joliet, Kankakee, Peoria, Springfield,
Belleville, East St. Louis, and other communities across
the state. The protestors want the state's legislators
to show their "Commitment to Care" by
restoring Medicaid funding to Illinois nursing home
residents. They want legislators to make fair funding
for nursing home residents a budgetary priority.
"The state budget cannot be balanced on the
backs of the frail and elderly nursing home residents of
Illinois," said Bill Kempiners, Executive Director
of the Illinois Health Care Association. "These
nursing home residents are our mothers and fathers,
grandmothers and grandfathers – people who have worked
all their lives to build our families, our neighborhoods
and our country. The state has the moral obligation to
make good on its commitment to take care of these
individuals."
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