Guest guest Posted August 5, 1998 Report Share Posted August 5, 1998 From the news wire - Comments AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- The Texas Association for Home Care (TAHC) is gearing up for what it calls the " last and best chance to rescue thousands of elderly Texans from hospitalization or premature confinement in nursing homes " and to save Texas taxpayers from an exponentially mounting tax burden to cover the cost of institutionalizing those patients. On Thursday, August 6, the U.S. House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, chaired by Congressman Bill (R-CA), will conduct a public hearing on Medicare home health care reimbursement; specifically, implementation of the Prospective Payment System (PPS) mandated by the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA). The hearing will be conducted in the main committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C., beginning at 10 a.m. TAHC estimates that Texas taxpayers will pay $81-million-per-year in additional taxes because Congress cut Medicare reimbursements for home health care to the bone when it passed the BBA last summer. In reality, the cuts could end up costing Texans hundreds of millions more if the PPA is not implemented within the timeframe mandated by Congress. And despite all that extra tax money, thousands of seniors already are losing their home health care benefits every day, TAHC says. According to TAHC, when it passed the BBA, Congress directed the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) (the federal agency that administers Medicare) to implement a new reimbursement system for home health care called the Interim Payment System (IPS). The IPS places a annual cap (an absolute maximum) on the total amount that Medicare will reimburse a home care agency for each of its patients per year, and it sets that cap at less than the average patient cost in 1993 -- five years ago. Not only was the cap set at impossibly low levels, but HCFA made no allowance for variations in patient needs. As a result, hundreds of Texas home care agencies already have been forced to close their doors, or are on the verge of closing. Those that are able to stay in business are being forced to accept or retain only patients whose needs are minimal; the cap makes it impossible for patients to properly care for patients with chronic or long-term needs. These patients are being forced into institutions such as hospitals and nursing homes. Even more troubling to TAHC and its member agencies is that it now appears that the IPS -- which Congress intended to be a temporary system, pending HCFA's formulation of a more equitable Prospective Payment System (PPS) by October, 1999 -- likely will become a permanent or, at least, long-term system. Recently, HCFA circulated an internal memorandum indicating that implementation of the PPS for home health is in jeopardy due to the HCFA's inability to resolve its own " Year 2000 " computer problems. " TAHC appreciates that Congressman Archer is interested in the home health care issue, " said Sara Speights, director of public and government affairs for TAHC, which represents more than 1,200 licensed home care agencies in Texas. " It is hard to imagine any issue that is more crucial to the health, independence and quality of life of hundreds of thousands of Texans. " In addition to focusing on HCFA's ability to enact the PPS and problems presented by the IPS, the subcommittee will examine the impact of the IPS in the states, its effect on home health agencies and other policies aimed at improving the home health benefit for Medicare beneficiaries. The subcommittee will hear invited testimony only, however, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration and inclusion in the printed record of the hearing. Ann Brock, president, administrator and co-owner of Guardian Home Care of Houston, will testify on Thursday as a provider representative from Texas. Brock is most concerned that any reimbursement system authorized by Congress must be flexible enough to address specific patient needs. " All our patients are equally entitled to Medicare benefits, and they must have equal access to the home health care that is appropriate to their own conditions and circumstances. " " I will be in Washington on a mission, " Brock said. " I want to help Congress to understand the personal impact of the IPS on taxpayers and on agencies, but most of all on patients. Home health care gives them independence, and it is this independence that keeps them going. " SOURCE Texas Association for Home Care © PR Newswire. All rights reserved. R. Kovacek, MSA, PT KovacekManagementServices, Inc. The FOCUS Group, Inc. 20225 Danbury Lane Harper Woods, MI 48225 Fax Email Pkovacek@... <http://www.theFOCUSgroup.net> Join PT Manager-- The Electronic Rehab Leadership Community To subscribe, send an empty message to ptmanager-subscribe@... ---- Read this list on the Web at http://www.FindMail.com/list/ptmanager/ To unsubscribe, email to ptmanager-unsubscribe@... To subscribe, email to ptmanager-subscribe@... -- Start a FREE E-Mail List at http://makelist.com ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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