Features
We All Share Common Challenges
I like to think that the home care community is one big family, all in the same boat. We are, of course. But it's also easy to see the industry as a diverse collection of different and sometimes opposing interests. For instance, at a glance, the home health and the durable medical equipment sectors may not seem to have much in common.
So it's useful to remember, as a large and important community, what we do have in common. By speaking with a unified voice as often as we can, we can help our important policy and advocacy messages to ring loudly, clearly and memorably in Washington.
Here are the three essential characteristics we share:
- The Home Care Patient
We all serve patients who receive quality care in their homes, which is a broad and a powerful bond. The location of our patients distinguishes us in important ways in the eyes of the public and in terms of how care is provided and paid for. This connects all of our lines of business, services, therapies and products.
As providers and professionals in home care, we also represent a trend toward providing cost-effective care that can help the nation address spiraling health care costs as well as the unique needs of the growing ranks of older Americans.
Just as we have home care champions in Congress who go to bat for us, you are the champions of home care patients in your communities. Let's not lose sight of that.
- Immediate Challenges to Reimbursement and Access to Care
Recent government legislation and regulations have targeted specific therapies and items for drastic cuts in Medicare reimbursement. Examples include the cuts for certain durable medical equipment items scheduled to start in January, the deep cuts proposed for inhalation therapies and expiration of the rural add-on for home health.
While it's important to fight for your niche, it's also important to strengthen the larger home care community.
- Continuing Evolution in Home Care
There are more challenges down the road. As provisions of the Medicare Modernization Act continue to kick in, we will face a possible massive shift away from fee-for-service under the Medicare Advantage program. Under current federal budget conditions, we can all be sure of continuing financial pressures.
At the same time, there will be ample opportunities to create new alliances, use new technologies and strategies and look for new ways of providing home care.
