Home Healthcare Can Help Lower Costs, Improve Results

Floor Speech

Home Healthcare Can Help Lower Costs, Improve Results

* Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, the Census Bureau currently estimates that our nation's elderly population will double between 2000 and 2050. And in my home state of North Carolina, the elderly population is growing much faster than the national average. As our population ages, a rising number of baby boomers will become susceptible to one or more chronic health conditions that will cost our Medicare system billions of dollars. At the same time, our citizens age 65 and over have expressed an overwhelming preference to live independently at home for as long as possible, among family and friends.

* What is the solution? Since the elderly population overwhelmingly prefers to receive their healthcare at home and since such treatment is much more cost effective, our government should be investing in home healthcare.

* Today, home healthcare is more than just basic, long-term care. It is much more advanced and sophisticated. Highly skilled nurses and therapists are already working within the existing Medicare system to help patients manage heart disease, diabetes, balance problems and other illnesses that, if not properly treated, can increase the cost to Medicare. Home health is helping many of these people stay out of expensive alternatives, and is allowing our seniors to remain at home where they ought to be.

* With a rising older population, home healthcare programs that improve care, save money and are preferred by constituents are closely aligned with the government's objectives for health reform. Yet, provisions in the Democrat draft healthcare bill would cut $51 billion from the Medicare home health program over the next decade. These reductions will have a detrimental effect on access to home care for our elderly population and could potentially cost Medicare more by forcing people unnecessarily into other facility based care.

* For these reasons, I believe we must oppose these cuts and lend our support to home healthcare.

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