Lutheran SeniorLife and SWPPA Unite to Protect Medicaid for Seniors

Lutheran SeniorLife, in collaboration with the Southwestern Pennsylvania Partnership for Aging (SWPPA), hosted an advocacy event at St. John Community to address growing concerns over potential cuts to Medicaid and the impact these changes could have on seniors, healthcare providers, and communities. As part of SWPPA’s broader effort to engage stakeholders across the region, the event highlighted the critical role Medicaid plays in providing essential healthcare services, particularly for nursing home residents and individuals relying on home care. Samantha Rapuk, executive director of St. John Community, alongside other speakers, emphasized the need to prepare for the future and urged policymakers to safeguard funding for these vital programs. The event garnered media coverage from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Butler Eagle, and WTAE-TV, amplifying the voices of residents, families, and experts advocating for the preservation of Medicaid.

The three articles below are part of that coverage, capturing the urgency of the discussion, the advocacy efforts underway, and insights from Lutheran SeniorLife President and CEO David Fenoglietto and other leaders in the field.

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Concern rises as nursing homes, seniors wait for decisions on potential Medicaid cuts

 

Kris B. Mamula / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Mar 17, 2025

A rising chorus of opposition to cuts in federal aid spread to a Butler County senior living complex Monday, where patients and others expressed worry about pending reductions to Medicaid funding.

The St. John Community in Mars hosted an information session and organizers urged participants to contact legislators about potential cuts to the state-federal program that pays for a variety of health services for the needy.

The latest U.S. House budget resolution proposes nearly $900 billion in cuts to Medicaid, according to the Pennsylvania Health Action Network, a Philadelphia advocacy group.

In confirmation hearings in the Senate Finance Committee on Friday, Dr. Mehmet Oz, former candidate for one of Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate seats and President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, was asked about plans for cutting fraud from the $1 trillion programs but didn’t make commitments on potential funding cuts, the Associated Press reported.

About 150 million Americans are enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid or Affordable Care Act coverage.

“We have to make some important decisions to improve the quality of care,” Dr. Oz said when queried on everything from reimbursement levels for doctors to the sustainability of rural hospitals.

In Butler County, 26,325 residents rely on Medicaid for health coverage — 33% are seniors, pregnant or people with disabilities; 31% are children, according to SWPPA, or the Southwestern Pennsylvania Partnership for Aging.

Which Medicaid programs could be cut hasn’t yet been worked out, but the program covers more than 60% of nursing home residents in Pennsylvania, in addition to behavioral health, home care and health insurance subsidies.

Many elderly nursing home residents turn to Medicaid because they have simply run out of money, said Samantha Rapuk, executive director of St. John Community.

“They’re fathers, they’re mothers, they were active in their communities,” she told the group on Monday. “But they outlived their resources.”

Medicaid pays for care for 100 of the 140 skilled care patients at St. John’s, Ms. Rapuk said.

The program’s low reimbursement levels means the center loses about $30 a day per Medicaid patient — a shortfall that the complex must make up with revenue from services provided to private pay residents.

St. John’s is owned by Mars area-based Lutheran SeniorLife, a nonprofit senior care provider.

Medicaid also provides subsidies for health care insurance purchased through Pennsylvania’s online marketplace, called Pennie.

Enhanced subsidies for the coverage will expire at the end of the year without Congressional action. The loss of the subsidies would cut $4.7 billion in federal aid to the state, according to a new study by the Urban Institute with support by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The study predicts hospitals would see an increase in uncompensated care of $19 billion nationwide if cuts are made.

A number of organizations are gearing up to oppose cuts to Medicaid, and PHAN has scheduled a news conference Tuesday to call attention to the issue.

“The math is conclusive: major cuts to Medicaid are the only way to meet the House’s budget resolution requirements,” Alice Burns, associate director of Medicaid and the Uninsured at KFF, a San Francisco-based nonprofit advocacy group, wrote in a March 7 blog.

“There are a myriad of options available for cutting Medicaid, but all of them would leave the states facing difficult choices to raise revenue or cut spending.”

Cranberry residents Dave and Albina DeRiggi rely on the Medicaid-funded Living Independence for the Elderly program to continue living in their homes, even though they are eligible for admission to a nursing home. LIFE provides transportation, meals, medical care and other services for the couple.

“We’ve worked hard all our lives,” the 70-year-old Ms. DeRiggi said, tearfully at Monday’s information session. “Without the LIFE program, I could not exist.”

 

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St. John Community hosts Medicaid advocacy event

Hunter Muro / Eagle Staff Writer

March 17, 2025 

 

ADAMS TWP — Albina and David Deriggi have relied on Medicaid to continue living independently as they navigate the challenges that come with aging.

Without the extensive everyday care, the Cranberry Township couple acknowledge their lives would be drastically altered.

“We could not exist without the program,” Albina said.

Albina explained that a nagging leg wound caused by an autoimmune disease has made it difficult for her to walk and to care for David, who has spent the last seven years in an electric wheelchair.

They are just two of the 26,325 Butler County residents who rely on Medicaid for health coverage.

As rumors continue to swirl about potential cuts to the federal Medicaid program, local officials and business owners are beginning to take a stand for a program that supports more than 72 million Americans as of October 2024.

Lutheran SeniorLife’s St. John Community, in partnership with the Southwestern Pennsylvania Partnership for Aging (SWPPA), joined that trend by hosting “Medicaid Works for Butler County,” an advocacy event, on Monday, March 17.

The event sought to highlight the importance of appropriately funding Medicaid and Medicare and the potential harm any cuts could have on Butler County, where 21.3% of residents are age 65 or older.

“I think everybody is indirectly affected in some way in their community,” said Joe Angelelli, president of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Partnership for Aging.

“Some people may not know that their neighbors are getting home care and being able to stay in the community because of the Medicaid program. There are people employed in their neighborhoods who are getting a paycheck because of the Medicaid program. It’s at that level that these cuts would be felt.”

More than 3,400 county residents receive assistance through a Medicaid program known as Community HealthChoices, which mainly serves seniors and those living with physical disabilities.

Another 685 residents across 12 county nursing homes rely on Medicaid for daily care.

According to the Population Reference Bureau, the number of Americans aged 65 and older is projected to increase from 58 million in 2022 to 82 million by 2050, which would be a staggering 47% increase.

Those projections could create seismic changes in how government programs such as Medicare and Medicaid are funded.

“It’s just kind of a math issue, right?” Angelelli said. “We’re going to have more people who are going to need more. We’re going to have to take care of them or have more people who are unhoused and really suffering needlessly.”

Medicaid provided more than $38 million to the county’s 12 nursing homes in 2022. Additionally, the program funded nearly $11 million worth of home and community-based services across 18 home care agencies in the county.

St. John Community houses 140 residents, and about 75% of them rely on Medicaid for their care, according to executive director Samantha Rapuk, who says now is the time to start thinking about the future of both programs.

“I think our legislators need to look ahead and understand that if they don’t start supporting us now, we won’t be around to provide the services that they and their families are going to need in the future,” she said. “We’re going to continue to provide the same great care for as long as we can, but there’s only so much any facility can do without funds.”

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Public Advocacy Publicizes Threats to Medicaid

 

 

 

 

Lutheran SeniorLife, Mars, PA, hosted a March 17 public event, “Medicaid Works for Butler County,” to spotlight the potential effects of large cuts to Medicaid funding that may occur as a result of this year’s federal budget reconciliation process. The event at St. John Community was hosted in partnership with the Southwestern Pennsylvania Partnership for Aging (SWPPA), a network including LeadingAge members, area agencies on aging, health associations, and other community organizations.

“St. John has a very high population of residents on medical assistance … and our programs are very much in the crosshairs of any reductions to Medicaid,” says Lutheran SeniorLife President and CEO David Fenoglietto, explaining why his organization jumped at the chance to host the event and discuss the potential harm large cuts could cause.

The 50-plus attendees included a representative for Sen. John Fetterman, local elected officials, and other community groups, along with St. John residents and other older adults from the surrounding community. Speakers included St. John Executive Director Samantha Rapuk, SWPPA President Joe Angelelli, and a representative of LIFE VieCare, Lutheran SeniorLife’s PACE.

SWPPA plans to hold similar events in all 10 counties in its footprint.

The event attracted media attention, including articles in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Butler Eagle that shared the stories of older adults in attendance, worried about how cuts could impact their lives. Pittsburgh television station WTAE broadcast a report (not available online). Lutheran SeniorLife also reports excellent reach to its social media follow-up: $250 spent on a Facebook boost helped produce over 22,000 views and over 1,600 interactions.

“It’s important to do this type of event,” adds Rapuk. “When people hear Medicaid cuts, they don’t immediately think of long-term care. But we are one of the heaviest hit when there are changes to Medicaid, so people need to know who we are and who our residents are. If we’re not getting out and telling them, nobody else is.”