Home Health
Shouldn’t Be Cut

The Visiting Nurses Association, Hospice, and other home health providers nationwide are a huge cost-saver to the Medicare system as we help prevent expensive stays in hospitals and skilled nursing facilities. Yet despite the cost-effectiveness of home nursing visits, the Medicare home health benefit is currently under attack by both the Administration and Congress.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted on August 1 to freeze payments to Medicare home health providers in 2008 as part of a large Medicare and children’s health insurance bill. On August 29, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published a regulation to Congress that included an 11% cut to Medicare home health reimbursement over the next four years.

We won’t know the end result of what the Senate and House decide until the end of September at the earliest, but we do know that home health saves money, and every act by Congress to reduce Medicare home health funding means that many people in the Upper Valley who are homebound with chronic illnesses and/or disabilities would face greater difficulty accessing the health services they need to remain independent at home.

Home health is a solution to slowing the rapid growth in health care costs and spending. We urge our Congressional delegation to support our community mission to provide compassionate and cost-effective health care to those most in need so that they can live independently at home. We urge them to oppose reducing funds for Medicare home health this year.

Mark Hamilton

Interim president and CEO

Visiting Nurse Association

Hospice of VT and NH