Shirkey Nursing and Rehab recently held a political luncheon to discuss the nursing home crisis in Missouri. State representatives Peggy McGaugh and Terry Thompson, along with state senate candidates Kurtis Gregory and Doug Richey, listened to area nursing home directors speak on issues facing housing for the elderly. According to the Missouri Health Care Association (MHCA), Missouri has the lowest Medicaid skilled nursing reimbursement rate per patient in the county at $205.25 per day. In comparison, neighboring states are at a much higher rate with Iowa at $246.18, Arkansas at $280.41 and Kansas at $281.62 per day. “You know, one of the big issues that we administrators were hanging on to be the rebase that was put in the budget that Governor Mike Parsons signed and if you see him, y’all thank him for not cutting that out of the budget,” said Shirkey Nursing and Rehab Administrator Chris Brown. “Rebasing is a process where state Medicaid programs adjust their Medicaid…