SPRINGFIELDState Senator Ram Villivalam joined nurses, nursing home administrators and a bipartisan group of legislators in calling for an increase in Medicaid reimbursement rates for nursing homes, continuing his commitment to supporting seniors as the 8^th District has the highest concentration of nursing homes in the state.

“Day in and day out, these homes care for our loved ones with compassion and respect, but they need our help. It's no secret that the cost of everything has gone up,” said Villivalam (D-Chicago). “From nutritious meals to keeping the lights on, running these facilities is more expensive than ever. Funding that might have gotten the job done in 2017 will not cut it in 2025.”

Currently, nursing facilities in Illinois receive a per diem payment, which is specific to each facility and is based on the sum of three separately calculated components, one of them being support.

The support component of the nursing facility rate is used to calculate costs associated with general service and administration such as food, housekeeping or utilities.

Senate Bill 1606, sponsored by State Senator Dave Koehler, would increase the Medicaid reimbursement rate for the support component of the nursing facility rate and skilled/intermediate care family rate by the percentage change in inflation to ensure rates are based on current costs, rather than those from 2017.

“Many nursing homes are in historically underfunded communities where resources are stretched thin and demands continue to grow,” said Villivalam. “This is not the time for cutbacks. Equity in long-term care starts with fully funding the essentials our seniors need to age with dignity.”

Senate Bill 1606 is assigned to the Senate Appropriations-Health and Human Services Committee.