Medicare patients not hurt by HHA closings, reports GAO
By MATTHEW HAY
HHBR Washington Correspondent
WASHINGTON Home care representatives in search of further relief this year from the devastation of the interim payment system (IPS) are reeling from the General Accounting Office (GAO; Washington) report released last week that concluded that Medicare beneficiary access to home healthcare has not been jeopardized despite numerous agency closures.
The GAO reported last week that even though 14% of agencies closed between Oct. 1, 1997 and Jan. 1, 1999, beneficiaries are still served by over 9,000 home health agencies (HHAs), approximately the same number that were available in 1996. In its report delivered to Congress May 26, the GAO further qualified these findings by pointing out that 40% of the closures were concentrated in three states which had experienced inordinate growth in both the number of agencies and utilization rates. Moreover, the GAO said that the majority of these closures occurred in urban areas that still have "a large number" of agencies.
Later Tuesday, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC; Washington) is expected to hit the industry with more bad news when it releases its semi-annual report to Congress, including a special report on the impact of the IPS.
MedPAC is expected to largely echo the GAO’s findings. These reports threaten to strip the home care industry of a major argument in favor of restoring funds to home healthcare.
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