Traversing the halls of his nursing home in a wheelchair, Owen Allen listened to a visiting guitarist play “Sweet Caroline,” then chipped away at a thousand-piece puzzle in the sunroom.
Since muscular dystrophy struck and his legs started giving out, the 64-year-old Atlanta native relies on Medicaid to keep him in the 130-bed home where staff help him pull weights to regain his strength.
As a House Republican committee examines steep cuts to Medicaid at a pivotal hearing Tuesday, nursing home residents like Allen are among the less well-known recipients who could be affected — especially if lawmakers upend an unusual, long-standing tax arrangement enjoyed by most nursing homes.