The Nation - News from March 14, 1988

Hundreds of thousands of low-income people who are elderly or disabled may have to pay an average of $50 to $75 a month more for nursing home care under a new rule issued by the Reagan Administration, according to a published report. The government said the rule, which takes effect April 8, would enable states to “shift more of the financial responsibility for the cost of nursing home care to the recipient,” the New York Times reported. The new rule, government statistics show, will save the federal government and the states from $160 million to $615 million over three years, the paper said. Under the new rule, states will be allowed for the first time to eliminate or curtail the deductions they must now permit Medicaid recipients for medical costs not covered by the state Medicaid plan.