Bill to help preserve HHAs introduced in the House
By MATTHEW HAY
HHBR Washington Correspondent
WASHINGTON Several home health allies in the House introduced modest legislation last week that some home care representatives hope might be a starting point for a more far-reaching measure.
The legislation the Home Health Access Preservation Act of 1999 (H.R. 1917) is essentially an outlier policy that has been in the works since last year. The bill’s primary sponsors Reps. Tom Coburn (R-OK), Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Bob Weygand (D-RI) say the bill would give a modest $250 million a year for three years to "qualified home health agencies" that care for medically complex patients.
The bill outlines 10 costly diagnoses of conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart failure. It would afford an agency 30 days from the time it submits a cost report to certify the number of qualified patients it serves in order to receive payment. The bill would also give agencies a 36-month, interest-free repayment period.
The National Association for Home Care (Washington), the Visiting Nurses Association of America, the Home Care Association of America (HCAA; Jacksonville, FL), the American Federation of Home Care Providers, and the Home Health Services and Staffing Association (Alexandria, VA) have all endorsed the bill.
Nevertheless, in the face of the multi-billion dollar annual reduction in home health spending recently confirmed by the Congressional Budget Office (Washington), this bill does little to stop the hemorrhaging, home health officials say. "We certainly support it," said Scott Lara, Director of Government Relations for HCAA, "but our focus has to remain on the unified industry proposal."
Co-sponsors of the original bill include Reps. Joe Barton (R-TX), David McIntosh (R-IN), Nick Rahall (D-WV), Darlene Hooley (D-OR), Zach Wamp (R-TN), and Van Hilleary (R-TN).
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