Several Florida nursing jobs are now in danger.

The Obama administration recently proposed a cut to Medicare Part A nursing home benefits, which would greatly affect Florida’s seniors. The cuts would place care access and care giving jobs at risk. This regulation was originally proposed during the Bush administration.

According to an article by The Ledger, Obama’s central policy focus is job creation and healthcare, but this regulation would threaten key caregiver jobs that make a measurable difference in quality of care for Florida seniors. The American Health Care Association found that the regulation would cut Florida’s Medicare-financed nursing home care by $78.4 million.

These cuts, in conjunction with the ongoing crisis surrounding state Medicaid rates that already underfund nursing homes for the cost of providing skilled nursing care, will most likely further undermine facility care and the ability to serve seniors’ needs.

The proposed regulatory-driven Medicare funding cuts would severely jeopardize Florida’s oldest, sickest seniors - especially when combined with the growing pressure on the state Medicaid budget. The combination of potential Medicare cuts and the additional stress already placed on seniors’ state Medicaid benefits would severely undercut facility staffing efforts and intrafacility quality improvement programs that are making a positive difference - many of which are being conducted jointly with state and federal governments.

“Medicare and Medicaid funding are inextricably linked, and the combination of cuts to both programs squeezes facilities in a manner harmful to older residents’ growing care needs, and to our local economy and caregiver jobs base,” the article notes. “Frontline caregivers throughout Florida, and across America, make a key difference in patient care - and these proposed cuts set to go forward present a clear-and-present danger to their jobs.”