Spread the word: the budget passed in the House eliminates nursing home funding through Medicaid.
And if you have an elderly parent whose nursing home care is being paid through Medicaid, in 30 states -- so far -- the legal responsibility for those bills would then fall on you.
http://www.medicareadvocacy.org/2011/04/21/what-happens-to-current-nursing-home-residents-if-the-house-budget-resolution-becomes-law/
Under the proposed budget resolution passed by Republicans in the House of Representatives, nearly a million nursing home residents could immediately lose coverage for nursing home care. Further, all of the standards that govern nursing home care today could disappear.
A study of the costs of nursing home care, released April 21, 2011 by John Hancock Financial, reports, "the national average annual cost of care in the U.S. is $85,775 for a private room in a nursing home; $75,555 for a semi-private room in a nursing home."[1]
The House Republican Budget Resolution purports not to change Medicare for new beneficiaries until 2022. But, for current Medicare beneficiaries who live in nursing facilities, the overwhelming majority of whom rely on Medicaid for their nursing home coverage, the impact of the Budget Resolution would be immediate and devastating. With the repeal of Medicaid, fewer residents would be covered by Medicaid and more of the costs of nursing home care would be dramatically shifted to residents and states, and, for the first time, to residents' families. Residents could be required to pay for prescription drug coverage under Medicare Part D, whereas, under current law, those with Medicaid have no cost-sharing. And all current federal standards of care for nursing homes could be lost.
SNIP
Relative Responsibility. Since 1965, the Medicaid program has prohibited nursing facilities from requesting or requiring contributions from residents’ families.[12] Adult children have never been legally responsible for their parents' nursing home care under the Medicaid program. That provision disappears if Medicaid is repealed. States could require residents' families to contribute to the cost of their relatives' care, even as they address their own health care needs or seek to help a child attend college.
SNIP
____________________________
A list of the states:
http://law.psu.edu/_file/Pearson/FilialResponsibilityStatutes.pdf
_____________________________
The reason the state laws are not enforced any longer is that the Federal Medicaid law -- that the House Budget bill repeals -- supersedes them.
http://www.paelderlaw.com/budd.html
Can children be held financially responsible for the cost of their parents' nursing home care? You might be surprised to learn that, in Pennsylvania, the answer is yes.
Pennsylvania law has long provided that the husband, wife, child, father and mother shall, if of sufficient financial ability, care for and maintain, or financially assist an indigent relative. The statutory citation is 62 P.S. §1973.
http://www.elderlawanswers.com/resources/article.asp?id=5181§ion=4
In states that have so-called "filial responsibility laws," the nursing homes may seek reimbursement from the residents' children. These rarely-enforced laws, which are on the books in 30 states, hold adult children responsible for financial support of indigent parents and, in some cases, medical and nursing home costs.
= new reply since forum marked as read
remember, Medicaid is actually a collection of 50 state programs, though the funding is federal.
And Oregon, I believe, is the national leader in what we call "rebalancing", that is, emphasizing HCBS over nursing home care. 
(That's Alan Grayson)
