Cutting Medicare to nursing homes is poor healthcare policy

Here is a guest blog from McKnight's that again shows how nursing homes are being ignored in the health care reform debate. My opinion has been clear and consistent. Aging in place is great. BUT...this country is ranked 37th in the World Health Organization and the latest study on obesity shows we are getting fatter as a nation. And the statistics on chronic conditions we suffer is alarming. So will we need nursing homes? Yes. Will we put up with them as they are now? No. But if we put them out of existence we will put a huge burden on society not just in the near future but for decades to come. So let's not ignore the elephant in the room. There are three times as many nursing homes as hospitals. These are for many places to live. So when will we truly make them home? Cutting funding and ignoring this industry in health care reform is just the wrong thing to do.