Sequester making cuts to health care

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - The sequester drama in Washington D.C. playing out right here in Indiana. Medicare cuts were just part of the nearly 88 billion dollars in cuts that go into effect this year.

By now you've heard the word sequester more in two weeks, than you have most of your life. But in order to see the effects of it for us, we can look locally right at the Health Care industry.

“If you focus on Indiana, Medicare spending accounts for about 10 billion dollars a year for the state of Indiana,” Indiana State Health Care expert Nathan Myers PhD said.
    
According to Myers, the two percent Medicare cuts mean that nearly 200 million dollars will be taken out of the state from the Health Care field.
    
Across town at the Westminster Village retirement community, they said it could affect how some of their residents pay.
"About 90 percent of our residents pay private pay, so there’s that 10 percent that it would affect,” Kyle Exline the Executive Director said. “So the two percent would be a direct hit on our revenue."

"That's still going to have some negative implications especially in a community like Terre Haute where the medical community accounts for such an important part of the economy.” Myers explained about the future with the cuts.
    
But, back at Westminster Village, while they admit it's not ideal, the loss of revenue was something they can account for without making cuts to jobs or to services for their residents.

"We look at it every year and we actually budgeted for a cut this year,” Exline explained. “So it’s something that you plan for you know you hardly ever expect Medicare to say hey we're going to give you more money than we did last year.”

“Usually we budget for a decrease."
    
Myers said that while the cuts are now going through he doesn't expect the sequester to last past March. At that point if it does continue the government could have a shutdown. The first in Washington D.C. since 1995.