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Article: Washington State Nursing Homes' Tax Plan Fails to Work as Anticipated.
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
- Article date:
- September 15, 2003
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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By Sandi Doughton, The Seattle Times Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Sep. 15--Nursing-home operators knew they were taking a gamble this year when they asked the state Legislature to tax them.
They wanted to use the tax money to pull in matching federal funds and help plug what they say is a gap between their costs and what the government pays for low-income elderly residents.
But the convoluted plan, which critics called a shell game, backfired.
The Legislature instead slashed state funding for nursing homes, imposed a smaller tax and used the bulk of the money to backfill the budget cuts.
Though most facilities ...