Political Quotes

“I might add at this time that despite the fact that HCFA is responsible for this draconian system, HCFA has only offered technical assistance to address this crisis. HCFA must be held accountable for this insane and inequitable system and face up to the fact that its system is wreaking havoc throughout our country. Clearly the program cannot continue under this scenario and continue to provide quality services to eligible individuals. In addition to HCFA imposing an untested payment system with the home health IPS, the scoring mechanism used by CBO to estimate savings resulting from IPS included a \2/3\ behavioral offset. What this means is that CBO presumed that for every $3 saved under IPS, agencies would find some way, through expanding the number of beneficiaries they serve, to make up $2 of every $3 lost under IPS. What has become clear, as was indicated by the Senator from Missouri, CBO's behavioral assumptions about agencies increasing the number of beneficiaries served have not come to pass. Instead, we are seeing a near dismantling of the home care program as the result of IPS.”