OK Health Care Authority: No Cuts To Nursing Homes On Monday

Nico Gomez, CEO of Oklahoma Health Care Authority, says he will not move forward with Medicaid cuts on Monday that would devastate the state's nursing homes.

Gomez told News 9 politics analyst Scott Mitchell he wanted to give lawmakers more time to find a way to prevent or reduce those cuts.

"If we have to cut nursing homes, the earliest would be July 1," Gomez said. "But we have to face some difficult decisions in light of not having a budget."
Gomez appeared Saturday on News 9's The Hot Seat, hosted by Mitchell.

The OHCA has proposed a 25 percent provider rate reduction in order to balance its budget.  

A proposed cigarette tax would be used to stabilize provider rates, but the measure has stalled in the legislature.

The Oklahoma Association of Health Care Providers has warned of catastrophic affects to nursing homes a 25 percent reduction could bring.

The association predicted under the cuts, many nursing homes would be forced to close and would create a "humanitarian crisis."