Nursing home rate ripoff
To the editor:
I have received three 8-1/2×11 political advertisements from State Representative Paul Torkelson and State Senator Gary Dahms tell the public all the issues of concern that they will be working on or have done. Most politicians always tell the public what they are going to do to help the people but they never tell you what they are going to do to you. But they wanted your vote on Nov. 8.
My wife is in a nursing home. I have some issues about the high cost of nursing home room rent. On Oct. 1st, 2015 the room rent up by $4 per day. This would be affordable. But on Jan. 1st, 2016 the room went up by $41 per day or about a 29 percent increase. This is what I call highway robbery in broad daylight. I
contacted the nursing home administration about such a big increase at one time. I was told to talk to my legislator because they made the law to raise the nursing home daily rates. I tried calling Rep. Torkelson about the issue. I left four messages on Rep. Torkelson’s telephone with no response; on the fourth call I left a message and said that if I don’t get a response this time I will write a letter to the editor of Brown County paper and tell the public how you respond to the people you represent in your district issues. The next day I had a message and Rep. Torkelson’s cell phone number. I called Rep. Torkelson and asked him why he would support a bill that would increase the nursing home room rate by 29 percent or $41 plus an increase of $4 on Oct. 1st, 2015, which is a total of $45 per day. This is an increase of $1,395 per month or $16,740 per year. This was just for private pay residents.
This increase would be going from $56,000 for 2015 to $72,000 for 2016 or an increase of $16,740 per year.
I was told that nursing homes needed an increase to keep operating or go broke or out of business. I asked but why such a big increase at one time. I said that this big increase was totally insane and just for private pay residents which to me is discrimination. I called the author of the nursing home bill H.F. No. 316 plus other legislators and the governor, but it sounds like nobody really cares anymore about all the senior citizens. I asked for a copy of the nursing home bill and it took 2 months before I received one. It was a seven-page bill that that was in a package of a 1,200 page bill. I am almost sure that most of the legislators didn’t know what was all in that bill. I was told that there was a law on the books that states every issue should be worked on separately and not all the issues in one bill. Why are the legislators not going by the law? Is this the first law that they are not following?
I read the bill twice and there was not one word in it about raising the nursing home room rents. So I called Senator Dahms and asked him what kind of nursing home bill that is when when there is not a word in it about raising nursing home room rates. He told me that there was some kind of formula to arrive at room rent. I asked Dahms why that wasn’t included in the bill then, no answer. I told Senator Dahms that I really think none of you know what is going on at the State Capitol. You just can’t get any direct answers from politicians anymore. Just past the buck. This is why I think we need some better leadership.
My question on this nursing home issue is where is all that big increase in room rent going? It sure is not going to the employees. They’re all underpaid for all the handwork they through taking care of the nursing home residents. Are all the nursing home residents getting ripped off because of greed? I think it is time to investigate this serious issue.
Alphonse A. Mathiowetz
Comfrey