Importance of Home Health Care - Hon. Todd C. Young
Floor Speech
Mr. YOUNG of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise to address the value of home healthcare to the people of Indiana's Ninth Congressional District. In addition to being a preferred place for care for most eligible seniors, home health consistently offers seniors the lowest cost venue. In Indiana alone, over 61,000 Medicare beneficiaries receive home health services from more than 8,000 Hoosiers who provide their care. Home health services, properly regulated, need to be encouraged rather than discouraged, to fulfill their mission of quality care for America's seniors and greater value for our Medicare program.
I appreciate the home health care community's efforts to develop their own proposal to weed out bad actors in their industry. One proposal that might save money within Medicare would place reasonable per-provider limitations on 60-day episodes of homecare. Such limitations aim to ensure beneficiary access to care and stop abusive billing practices that appear to exist in a small number of counties nationwide. MedPAC's March Report to Congress referenced 25 counties in the nation where a reasonable reduction in homecare utilization with an episode limit could achieve up to $1 billion in savings per year.
A reasonable but stable reimbursement environment is necessary for homecare providers to continue accomplishing their mission. Since 2010, the homecare industry has been subjected to nearly $70 billion in reimbursement cuts, 21% of their total funding. I have said time and again that our Medicare system needs broad reform to make it sustainable for future generations. We cannot continue to impose cut after cut on our providers and expect to fix the system without shifting more of the financial burden to our senior population or harming patient care. Working together to implement creative reforms like this, we will ensure that this valuable service continues to improve the lives of our seniors in their homes in Indiana and across the nation.
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