U.S. Medicare proposes cuts in nursing home pay
WASHINGTON, May 1 (Reuters) - The government's Medicare program on Thursday proposed payment cuts to reimburse nursing homes that treat more than 1 million of the nation's elderly.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a proposed 0.3 percent cut to reimbursements, which if enacted will hurt Kindred Healthcare Inc (KND.N), Skilled Healthcare Group Inc (SKH.N) and Sun Healthcare Group Inc (SUNH.O).
The looming decision has beat down shares of publicly traded nursing homes since February, when a proposal to trim $4.7 billion in payments over five years first surfaced.
Nursing home companies rely on government health care funding to pay for most of their services. Between 1 million to 1.5 million Americans live in nursing homes, a number expected to swell as the baby boomer population ages. (Reporting by Kim Dixon; Editing by Andre Grenon)
