Press Releases
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS) today joined Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Kit Bond (R-MO) to introduce legislation to preserve home health care by preventing cuts to Medicare reimbursement rates.
“These unprecedented Medicare cuts would be devastating to home health care in Kansas,” Senator Roberts said. “When our valuable home health providers are insufficiently paid to cover their costs, access to health care is compromised.”
The Home Health Care Access Protection Act of 2007, of which Roberts is a co-sponsor, would block the 11.75 percent administrative cuts proposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) scheduled to take effect January 1, 2008. The bill would establish a reliable and transparent process for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to determine payment rate adjustments.
According to the National Association for Home Care and Hospice, if implemented, these regulatory cuts would reduce home health payments in Kansas by over $33 million over the next five years. By 2011, 60 percent of home health agencies in Kansas would have Medicare margins at or below zero.
“In Kansas, the need for home health care is increasing with an aging population,” Senator Roberts said. “In rural areas, availability of home health services can permit patients to stay in the home, reducing travel and time burdens of supportive family members and friends.”
Similar legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Rep. Walter Jones, Jr. (R-NC).
Senator Roberts is a senior member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and Co-Chairman of the Senate Rural Health Caucus.
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“These unprecedented Medicare cuts would be devastating to home health care in Kansas,” Senator Roberts said. “When our valuable home health providers are insufficiently paid to cover their costs, access to health care is compromised.”
The Home Health Care Access Protection Act of 2007, of which Roberts is a co-sponsor, would block the 11.75 percent administrative cuts proposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) scheduled to take effect January 1, 2008. The bill would establish a reliable and transparent process for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to determine payment rate adjustments.
According to the National Association for Home Care and Hospice, if implemented, these regulatory cuts would reduce home health payments in Kansas by over $33 million over the next five years. By 2011, 60 percent of home health agencies in Kansas would have Medicare margins at or below zero.
“In Kansas, the need for home health care is increasing with an aging population,” Senator Roberts said. “In rural areas, availability of home health services can permit patients to stay in the home, reducing travel and time burdens of supportive family members and friends.”
Similar legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Rep. Walter Jones, Jr. (R-NC).
Senator Roberts is a senior member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and Co-Chairman of the Senate Rural Health Caucus.
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