In regard to your story “Nursing facilities may face controls’’ (Page A1, May 27), it’s important to underscore that the biggest challenge to quality care remains a shortage of Medicaid funding.

Nearly 70 percent of nursing home residents rely on MassHealth to pay for their care, yet Medicaid reimbursement rates have remained nearly flat since 2008. That has meant that the salaries of those on the front lines of caregiving have remained stagnant, while the cost of services and goods, such as food, utilities, and rent, has tripled. Retaining qualified workers in this kind of an environment is a major challenge.

We support and have always embraced the goal of the legislative measure — to achieve further accountability for quality care. But it is important to remember that Massachusetts already has a strong record and high rankings in quality as compared with other states. The best way to ensure continued and improved quality is to provide adequate Medicaid funding for nursing homes, and that budget gap deserves more coverage, as many local for-profit and not-for-profit nursing homes are struggling to stay afloat. 

Ned Morse

President

Massachusetts Senior

Care Association

Waltham