Chairman's Corner
Judith A. Bishop, Chairman
Mark Twain perhaps said it best:
“No man’s property is safe when the legislature is in session.” I was reminded of this truism during a recent trip to Washington to learn more about the Administration’s plans for healthcare reform. The initial
proposal from the Administration calls for Medicare cutbacks totaling $13 billion for home care over the next five years. In the interest of quality patient care, we simply can’t let this happen!
These proposed Medicare cutbacks are coming at a time when a growing number of seniors need home care services. And, strangely, with the nation in dire financial
straits and struggling to find ways to constrain runaway healthcare costs, the Administration has targeted an area of the healthcare industry that provides services in the most cost-effective manner — home care.
It just goes to show that logic and common sense don’t always prevail in Washington.
Seniors have the most to lose in this debate. If fully enacted, these cutbacks will undoubtedly force many home care agencies to close their doors. Home is synonymous with freedom and independence for home care patients, and it is critical that they have available home care services in their communities to enable them to preserve their quality of life.
Given the magnitude of this threat, our company has no choice but to participate in the political process. I can assure you that if we apathetically sit on the sidelines and allow others with competing interests to influence the political debate, we will come out on the losing end of healthcare reform.
Patients and their family members, physicians, senior advocacy groups, employees and many others have a stake in this fight. I am asking you to please take a few minutes to write
your senators and congressman. The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) has created the following process for making letter writing easy:
1. Go to www.nahc.org.
2. Click on the “Legislative Issues” section.
3. Under the heading “Contact Members to Oppose Home Health Care Cuts,” click on “Write your Legislators.”
4. Fill out your contact information.
5. Under the heading “Send Letters,” click on “Edit/Print Letters.”
6. Please edit the letter to make it more personal. For example, make reference to your own experience as a caregiver or as the recipient of home care services.
7. Print the letter and mail to your senators and congressman (letters are much more meaningful than emails).
I would also encourage you to educate yourself about the Administration’s proposed Medicare cuts. Under the abovementioned heading “Contact Members to Oppose Home Health Care Cuts,” click on “Talking Points/Background,” which features an excellent summary of the issues.
As expected, with the change in the Administration, we are already seeing different policy interpretations and approaches to governing. Whether these policy and legislative changes ultimately help or hurt patient care will depend a great deal on our involvement in the political process. It’s time to make our collective voices heard in Washington!
