OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Nursing home owners in Oklahoma want the state to increase the amount it reimburses them for long-term patient care.

The group told members of a state House committee that failure to increase the state's share of nursing home costs will cause more homes to close.

The state and the federal Medicaid reimbursement last year was about $124 per patient per day while the actual operating cost was about $131 per day.

The owners suggest the state reimburse the homes at the Medicare rate that hospitals receive.

That rate would be about $200 a day and the group says that would be enough to make improvements at older nursing homes and offer better pay to employees.