Liz Saville Roberts: “The home health care agencies in my State--in fact, since January of about 2 years ago, 68 Medicare-certified agencies…”

“The home health care agencies in my State--in fact, since January of about 2 years ago, 68 Medicare-certified agencies in Kansas have closed their doors, more than a 25-percent drop, more than a quarter drop. These were not the ``fly-by-night'' agencies that some in the Federal Government and others in regards to various inspections--and you have talked about that we have heard about so much--many of these agencies had been in existence for 20 years. The latest numbers from HCFA show that the total home health care visits are down by over 45 percent--almost half. The losers of this situation are not just numbers. It is just not accounting in regards to, say, HCFA. These are our Nation's seniors; in particular, those who are really sick. We are talking about the Medicare patients who are suffering through complex and chronic care needs who are already experiencing a lot of difficulty in the home care services they need.”