If you watch American news for even a minute you will hear about the soaring debt and budget cuts, so I dont\' know why I was surprised to learn that the U.S. Centres for Medicare and Medicaid will cut funding for nursing homes by 11.1% in 2012.  (If you are wondering why your Extendicare stocks fell - you now know why).  It will be interesting to see how nursing home owners will deal with this change - will they take a cut in profits (probably not because investors would be less than pleased), will the nursing homes cut staffing, programs, or services (hopefully not because the seniors will suffer), or will nursing home fees increase (but those on Medicaid would not be able to afford an increase).  Nursing home providers will have a tough job determining how to deal with decreased funding while still remaining committed to providing quality health care. Let\'s cross our fingers for our American friends.