Home care and hospice nurses, aides and providers march on Washington to ensure the right of every American to be cared for in their home

Hundreds of home care and hospice providers will arrive in that nation’s capitol to keep the fight alive for the critical, high-value, high-quality care that is delivered every day to some of the nation’s most vulnerable individuals.

The annual March on Washington & Law Symposium Conference & Exposition starts March 27 through March 30 at the Renaissance Mayflower Hotel and will address current hot topics in health care legislation, regulatory matters, technology and hospice. Attendees will hear from more than 50 speakers and will earn continuing education credits for attending.

Trade media is invited to attend sessions of particular interest:

• David Gergen, senior political analyst for CNN, who’s presentation is titled “The Press, The President and Public Policy,” on Monday, March 28 at 8:30am
• Julie Gerberding, former Director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who will be discussing the economic consequences of health risks and the role of home care in national emergencies, on Wednesday, March 30 at noon.

To RSVP for these events, please email [email protected] or call 602-690-0801. For more information about the event, please visit the NAHC website.

Recently, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), issued a report recommending Congress impose a new co-payment obligation on Medicare home health patients and that provider payment rates be cut in several ways starting in 2012 and thereafter.

NAHC is calling on Congress to improve home care for seniors.  Unfortunately, if Congress were to adopt MedPAC’s recommendations, the opposite would occur – seniors and disabled Americans would suffer, and costs would rise for patients, families, and the Medicare program. A strong home health care system is essential to the health and economic well-being of millions of seniors and disabled Americans. Home-based care is clinically effective, utilizing advanced technologies and helping to cost-effectively manage chronic diseases that account for 75 percent of our nation’s health care spending. Millions of America’s seniors and disabled citizens depend on it and NAHC is urging Congress and the administration to reject both the extended 2012 funding reduction and the requirement that seniors pay out of pocket.

While 2010 was an important year with the unprecedented health care reform bill, it is essential to keep vigilant and educate members of Congress about home care’s ability to transform and right a system out of balance, and what it means to patients across the United States.

With a recent AARP study revealing that 75% of Americans 45+ surveyed want to stay in their home as long as possible and with baby boomers starting to turn 65 this year- there will be a large need for qualified home health care providers to meet the demand.  Job growth in the industry is expected to increase an astounding 48 percent by 2018 making it imperative to continue fighting for high quality, cost-effective care for our nation’s most vulnerable citizens. Home care employment increased by an average of 6.2 percent annually from 1999 to 2008 and is expected to rise by 50 percent more by 2018.

“We can continue to waste precious resources on institutional care or we can embrace proven solutions to meeting the health care needs of our growing senior population--home health care and hospice services,” said Val J. Halamandaris, president of National Association for Home Care & Hospice. “Not only is home care the right way to save billions in Medicare expenditures, it is what our seniors need to meet their increasing and complicated health care conditions. Our goal with this march is to educate elected officials to avoid obstacles to this care.”

The annual march comes at a time when $12 billion in Medicare cuts to the industry are already planned over the next few years even though home care and hospice is more cost effective, saving billions in Medicare expenditures. In 2009, the average home care visit cost $135.00 per day versus the average hospital visit which cost $1500 a day.   Preventive home health care saves Medicare and Medicaid billions of dollars per year.

“We should recognize the role home health care plays in saving and extending lives, sensibly addressing chronic disease, and saving Medicare for future generations,” said Halamandaris.

About NAHC

The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) is a nonprofit organization that represents the nation’s 33,000 home care and hospice organizations. NAHC also advocates for the more than two million nurses, therapists, aides and other caregivers employed by such organizations to provide in-home services to some 10 million Americans each year who are infirm, chronically ill, disabled and dying. Along with its advocacy, NAHC provides information to help its members provide the highest quality of care and is committed to excellence in every respect. To learn more about NAHC, visit www.nahc.org and www.caring.org.