Senator Saxby Chambliss Visits Savannah to Learn More About Challenges Facing the Home Health Care Industry

Senator Saxby Chambliss visits Savannah to discuss home telemonitoring and the legislative issues impacting the delivery of high quality, cost-effective health care. Following the briefing, Senator Chambliss accompanied one of Island Health Cares nurses on a home visit so that he could experience first-hand the importance of medically-compromised patients having access to skilled professionals and advanced monitoring technology in the home.

Contact:
Jan Cuzzell
Island Health Care, Inc.
3 West Perry Street
Savannah, GA 31401
Phone: 912-629-2727
www.islandhealth.com

Senator Saxby Chambliss Visits Savannah to Learn More About Challenges Facing the Home Health Care Industry

Savannah, GA (PRWEB) August, 2003 -- The Honorable Saxby Chambliss recently accepted an invitation to visit Island Health Care, Inc., a locally owned and operated home care company serving Chatham and Effingham counties. The purpose of the Senators visit was to learn more about the numerous challenges facing the home health industry, including legislative issues impacting the delivery of high quality, cost-effective health care once a patient is discharged from the hospital.

The Senators visit began with a discussion of home health care in Georgia, with emphasis on the potential impact of telemedicine on Medicare and Medicaid cost containment. Island Health Care is the only home health company in Chatham, Effingham and Beaufort counties that utilizes the hospital-grade, FDA-approved HomMedä monitoring system to evaluate a patients vital signs and response to treatment between home visits. Home monitoring is not reimbursable under Medicare or Medicaid, and is provided by Island Health Care at no cost to Medicare beneficiaries.

A small monitor is placed in the patients home on admission to Island Health Care. This monitor is programmed to remind the patient to take his or her vital signs at the same time every day. By following simple computerized voice prompts, patients at home can easily and accurately measure weight, blood pressure, heart rate, temperature, blood oxygen level, blood glucose, and electrocardiogram (EKG) readings.

These measurements are then electronically transmitted to Island Health Cares Central Computer Station where a nurse reviews the data. Patients with abnormal vital signs receive a phone call or a nursing visit for further skilled assessment as needed. Weekly or monthly graphic reports of vital sign trends can also be printed and sent to the physician to help guide treatment decisions.

The use of technologically advanced equipment (telehomecare) to monitor patients on a daily basis allows Island Health Care to continuously evaluate a patients response to treatment and schedule home visits at times when they are most needed. By targeting home visits based on patient need, Island Health Care is able to operate more efficiently, thereby reducing the cost of providing care without sacrificing quality.

Val Halamandaris, President of the National Association for Home Care (NAHC), traveled to Savannah to join Island Health Care, emphasizing the immediate need for modernization within the Medicare program. Mr. Halamandaris briefed the Senator on the financial impact imposed on the home health industry as a result of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997.

Although the initial intent of the Balance Budget Act was to slow the rapid growth of home health spending and ultimately improve program efficiencies, the subsequent cuts in home health Medicare dollars have far exceeded what Congress intended.

According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the post-Balanced Budget Act reductions in home health spending totaled more than $72 billion between 1998 and 2002, over four times the $16 billion in Medicare cost savings that the CBO originally estimated. As a result of these cutbacks, many home health agencies in Georgia closed or stopped serving Medicare beneficiaries.

On October 1, 2002, surviving home health agencies received an additional across-the-board cut in Medicare home health payments, with projections for dramatically reduced home health spending over the next ten years. With shortened hospital stays and an increasing need for highly skilled home care services, cuts of this magnitude cannot be sustained without adversely affecting the quality of care for Georgia Medicare beneficiaries with complex medical problems.

The Senator was encouraged to support legislation needed to modernize the Medicare home health program. Legislation needs to address three priorities: (1) Incorporation of home telecare or telemedicine into the national home care model; (2) Restoration of a 10 per cent add-on payment for home health services provided in rural areas, which are 12 to 15 per cent more costly for home health agencies due to transportation expenses; and (3) Preventing the addition of a copayment for home health services, which would serve as an added burden to beneficiaries, many of whom face in-patient and physician office visit copays.

Following the briefing, Senator Chambliss accompanied one of Island Health Cares nurses on a home visit so that he could experience first-hand the importance of medically-compromised patients having access to skilled professionals and advanced monitoring technology in the home.

However, continuing to provide this highly specialized service will become increasingly difficult for Island Health Care if the Medicare program continues to impose further cuts in payments for home care.