New health bill proposes cuts in home health care

Many health care professionals fear that the proposed health care program under the Obama administration would mean budget cuts to the home health care sector. Among those to be affected by the proposed measure are the Charlotte home health care sector, it was learned.

Gary Thietten, founder of the Idaho Home Health & Hospice warned that the government’s efforts to continue introducing budget cuts to government-run insurance systems, including Medicare would adversely effect the services provided to home health and hospice patients.

He said that 2010 may be the most challenging year for many hospices and home health care industries, such as the  Charlotte home health care, as Congress try to introduce a health care program under President Barrack Obama’s plan or providing a near-universal health care to majority of Americans.

But the plan also means introducing cuts to government subsidies on programs that target home health care service covered by Medicare, the government-administered health insurance program that many home health care patients rely on for their health care needs.

Democrat leaders in the U.S. The proposal involves a $24 billion reductioin in government subsidies to providers that care for homebound Medicare over the next 10 years. The lawmakers argue that imposing cuts on the home health care would be detrimental to the health care industry.

The Republicans said that a cut in home health care budget and channeling it to the genral population would put America’s senior citizen to more risk and larger vulnerability.

Thietten said, “In 1998, payment for (Medicare) services changed so drastically and so abruptly it created a ripple across the nation. Idaho alone lost 30 percent of its providers.”

He argued that the cutbacks in funding would have the same effect as the 1998 policy when the provider availability was reduced in the state. He argued that it will still be the government who will foot the bill once those displaced from their home health care star to move to hospitals and other longer-term care options.

The National Association of Home Health Care and Hospice estimated the average per-visit Medicare charge for home health care at $132, compared to an average $5,765 daily charge for a hospital stay.

Thietten added he cannot understand the reasoning why the proposed cuts to home health care, such as the Charlotte home health care, are disproportionate to cuts affecting other providers.