By U.S. Sen. Susan Collins
(R-Maine)
November is National Home Care and Hospice Month, which recognizes the highly skilled and compassionate care that home health and hospice agencies provide. Home health care allows an individual to receive health care in the privacy, and comfort, and security of his or her home, near family, friends and loved ones. In rural communities, it allows people to avoid long, and sometimes difficult, trips to medical facilities or to doctor’s offices, which can be far from home. And it can reduce the need for emergency room visits and nursing home care.
Issues affecting home care and hospice have always been a top priority of mine. The highly skilled services and compassionate care provided by home care professionals has helped to keep families together and enabled millions of our most frail and vulnerable older persons to avoid hospitals and nursing homes and stay just where they want to be-in their own homes.
Home health care is becoming increasingly important as our population ages. The challenges facing our nation’s health care system are exacerbated by demographics. The first member of the “baby boom” generation turned 65 this year. Aging boomers will be retiring at the rate of 10,000 a day for the next 20 years. As they age, home health care can help save Medicare millions of dollars each year by helping these individuals avoid more costly institutional care.
To help ensure that Medicare patients receive the home care they need when they need it, I have introduced legislation called the “Home Health Care Planning Improvement Act.” Nurse practitioners, physician assistants, certified nurse midwives, and clinical nurse specialists are all playing increasingly important roles in the delivery of health care services, particularly in rural and medically underserved areas of our country where physicians may be in scarce supply. Despite their expanded role, these advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants are currently unable to order home health services for their Medicare patients. Under current law, only physicians are allowed to certify or initiate home health care for Medicare patients. In some cases, the certifying physician may not even have a relationship with the patient and must rely upon the input of the nurse practitioner or physician to order the medically necessary home health care. At best, this requirement adds more paperwork and a number of unnecessary steps to the process. At worst, it can lead to needless delays in getting Medicare patients the home health care they need simply because a physician is not readily available to sign the form. My bill would allow physician assistants and advanced practice registered nurses to order home health services.
Over the past several years, I have had the opportunity to meet and visit with a number of home health and hospice patients and providers around Maine. I have seen first-hand what a difference the highly skilled and compassionate care that these health professionals provide makes in the lives of their patients and families. That is why I am such a committed and passionate advocate for home health and hospice care. And, I am honored to have been named a “Home Care and Hospice Hero” by the National Association for Home Care and Hospice.
During Home Care and Hospice Month, indeed all year long, let us all pay tribute to the wonderful health care professionals and volunteers. They are true heroes, and I will continue to work with them to help ensure that our seniors, chronically ill, and disabled Americans have access to the quality home health and hospice services they deserve.
