More Patients in Danger of Losing Access to Medicare Home Health Care if Scheduled Cut Takes Effect; Study Shows Cuts Unnecessary 3/28/2002
From: Julie Phillips of the American Association for Homecare, 703-535-1889, Email: juliep@aahomecare.org ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 28 -- More than 800,000 patients around the nation have lost access to home health care. These statistics are included in an all-new, comprehensive study showing additional cuts to Medicare home health services would likely jeopardize access and impede quality for beneficiaries. Conducted by the Polisher Research Institute, the study concludes that the 15 percent cut to the Medicare home health, currently scheduled to go into effect this October, should be eliminated -- a recommendation also made to Congress earlier this year by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC). The study was announced by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) during a Capitol Hill press conference held March 21 -- the same day the Senate Budget Committee cast a unanimous vote to approve an amendment to the FY 2003 Budget Resolution which requests that Congress and the administration work together to eliminate the cut to Medicare home health. Home health agencies, as well as beneficiaries, have been threatened by the 15 percent cut since 1999. The report recommends that the cut, now scheduled for October 2002, be permanently eliminated rather than postponed again, as a pending cut would only extend the period of uncertainty and instability for homecare providers. Additional key findings include: -- The original five-year Medicare home health savings goal of $16.2 billion, set by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA '97), more than doubled between FY1998 and FY2000, equaling $35.8 billion in savings. An additional $35.3 billion in savings is expected between FY2001 and FY2002, equaling a total of $71.1 billion in savings over the five-year period -- an amount more than four times that of the BBA '97 goal for savings to the Medicare program. -- Declines in beneficiaries served in different states ranged from 10 to 38 percent as set out on a state-by-state basis, shown in the report. -- By 1999, only two years after the initial cuts enforced by the BBA '97, over 1,400 home health agencies closed. President and CEO of the American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare) Thomas Connaughton announced, "This is a very fragile industry that has experienced unprecedented cuts. The report, which is the most comprehensive to date on this subject, presents a picture which needed to be shown about the effects of the additional 15 percent cut to the Medicare home health benefit. AAHomecare is pleased to be a sponsor of this report, which substantiates the concerns and presents a full understanding of the experiences of the home health industry." Polisher Research Institute (PRI) is the research arm of Madlyn and Leonard Abramson Center for Jewish Life (formerly Philadelphia Geriatric Center), not-for-profit provider of long-term care services. American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare) is the unified voice that represents all the elements of homecare under one roof. AAHomecare is dedicated to advancing the value and practice of quality health care services at home, while building a community of support for the homecare industry. The full report, along with state-to-state findings, can be accessed online at: http://www.aahomecare.org/govrelations/polisher-study.html. |