Cost-Effectiveness of Skilled Home Health in Medicare

Floor Speech

Mr. LATHAM. Mr. Speaker, as we search for solutions to ensure that the Medicare system remains solvent for seniors and future beneficiaries, I believe it is vitally important to support cost-effective benefits that allow seniors to remain healthy and independent. Many of the treatments that were once offered exclusively in a hospital or physician setting can now be safely, effectively, affordably and efficiently provided in patients' homes by skilled clinicians. Home health care offers an intermediate level of care for patients who have difficulty accessing outpatient care or who need intensive assistance with an acute or chronic health problem.

Home health services are cost effective because they prevent costly hospitalizations, and serve as an alternative to expensive skilled nursing facilities. According to an October 2010 report in the Des Moines Register, seniors utilizing skilled home care cost taxpayers an average of $607 per month, compared to an average of $3,687 for seniors in nursing homes. Not only is home care less expensive, but studies also show that the vast majority of seniors prefer to live independently and remain in their home if possible.

A case study through the Veterans' Administration (VA) highlights the benefits of home healthcare. The VA has provided comprehensive primary care services to veterans in their homes since 1972 in an effort to keep patients in their homes and reduce inpatient hospital days. The program was specifically designed to target patients with complex chronic diseases through an interdisciplinary team of health professionals. This program showed a reduction in inpatient hospital days by 62 percent, and a reduction in nursing home bed days by 88 percent. This translated into a reduction in the cost of care from $38,000 to $29,000 per patient per year for patients enrolled in the program (a 24 percent reduction).

The Medicare program continues to increase in importance in my home state of Iowa, where our senior population is increasing dramatically. The percentage of Iowans age 65 and older is expected to grow from 14.8 percent in 2009 to 22.4 percent by 2030, according to the Iowa Department on Aging. I am committed to preserving benefits for current recipients and those nearing retirement, while guaranteeing the program's solvency for future generations of Americans.

Seniors throughout Iowa depend on Medicare for their health coverage, and we have to do everything we can to safeguard those benefits. As we examine solutions to address Medicare's solvency, there is strong evidence that home care is a cost-effective benefit that should remain accessible to seniors.

Source