In Support of the Home Health Care Planning Improvment Act

[Hazelbaby]

home health is an invaluable branch of health care. it allows individuals with medical conditions which require care and follow-up to maintain their independence through living at home, and minimize the costs of receiving treatment. in order for home health to be successful in providing safe, efficient care and allowing the home health client to remain at home, the home health care providers must carry out efficient care plans. current and potential home health clients are increasingly experiencing delays in receiving home health care because discharge planners and other referring personnel are having difficulties in locating a physician to complete the necessary medicare documentation.

in order for medicare patients to receive home health services the patients must be "homebound." this means that patients must infrequently leave their homes and when they do so, it is only accomplished through considerable effort and special arrangements. additionally, these patients must require a skilled nursing or therapy service and a plan of care must be created and submitted to medicare in order to qualify for home health care benefits. under the current medicare law, only physicians and podiatrists may sign a plan of care or certify a patient for home health services.

the "home health care planning improvement act of 2007" (s. 1678/h. r. 6826) would allow payment for home health services for medicare patients by a nurse practitioner, a clinical nurse specialists working in collaboration with a physician, a certified nurse-midwife or a physician assistant under a physician's supervision. this would effectively allow these home health practitioners to create home health care plans and order home health services for medicare patients.

please contact your congressional representatives and urge that they cosponsor this bill. this link leads to a website that allows you to enter your address of residence, and obtain the contact information for your congressional representatives: https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml.

thank-you for your time and consideration of this matter.

[Straydandelion]

Excuse the pet peeve:

Rant on/

maintain their independence through living at home

....but I will support Home Health when Medicare actually DOES "attempt to maintain independence through living at home". That is why there are so many Alzheimer's patients on the edge of these "skilled" rules who wind up in Nursing Homes because the families have no help/assistance with non-skilled yet needy patients and families.

Rant off/

[tencat]

Have to agree. Home healthcare requires a skilled need right now, and I don't think that's helpful to many people who really need home health, such as Alzheimer's patients who may be healthy as a horse in other ways. Or those who are bedbound, but have no serious comorbidities.