BROWNSVILLE Funding for long-term care in Kentucky faces an uncertain future, Gov. Paul Patton said Tuesday after he toured Edmonson Health Care Center. Providing quality care for our senior citizens is going to be a major challenge, Patton said. Nursing home care in Kentucky currently costs about $37,500 per patient annually, with that cost expected to double in the next 10 years, according to the Kentucky Long-Term Policy Research Center. Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicts that the number of nursing home residents nationally also will double by 2030. Kentucky is expected to mirror the national trends. Those factors, along with the current state budget shortfall, have left lawmakers stumped about how to pay for long-term care. About 80 percent of nursing home residents in Kentucky rely on Medicaid to pay for their nursing home expenses, Patton said. This years state budget shortfall likely will mean cuts to the Medicaid program, he said. Well have to accommodate the states expenditures to another major revenue shortfall this year, Patton said. As for nursing home funding, Patton said lawmakers will have to address that issue in the future, but he offered no explanation of what they intend to do. State Sen. Richie Sanders, R-Franklin, who is the chairman of the senates long-term care committee, said Tuesday that lawmakers are examining the issues of long-term care, but havent come up with any funding solutions. The money has got to come from somewhere, Edmonson Health Care Center administrator Barbara Dillehay said. I dont know how he is going to do that, but something has got to be done so that we can continue to care for these people. Weve got to have some type of plan. Thats why Dillehay opened her facility to the public and lawmakers Tuesday afternoon to showcase what the nursing home does for its residents. While Tuesdays visit from Patton included the fanfare of the Edmonson County High School Band, cheerleaders, a local VFW post and a huge buffet table of food, Dillehay is planning another meeting with lawmakers, this time to discuss business. Were having several people back on Oct. 26 to have lunch so that we can sit down and really talk about issues and concerns, Dillehay said. Lawmakers may consider asking for a federal waiver program to expand home and community-based services, Sanders said. Those services can help the elderly and disabled live independently a little longer, meaning fewer people needing nursing home care. Lawmakers will address long-term care funding in the coming weeks, Patton said.