Mike Thompson: “I rise today as the representative of Mississippi 2nd Congressional District in support of H.R. 2912, the Medicare…”

“I rise today as the representative of Mississippi 2nd Congressional District in support of H.R. 2912, the Medicare Venipuncture Fairness Act of 1997. This bill will delay the implementation of the Venipuncture provision in the Balanced Budget Act 1997, Section 4615. The service is greatly needed for elderly people who utilize home health services solely for venipuncture. Patients on Coumadin, a blood thinning agent, need repetitive blood sampling and monitoring to determine if their treatment is effective. The loss of this venipuncture service for patients on certain medications such as Coumadin could result in life threatening episodes. The Mississippi Association for Home Care estimates that eliminating the venipuncture provision will affect Ten to Twelve thousand patients in Mississippi alone. Punishing the frail and elderly recipients who depend upon home health services is not the intent of this change, but will be the ultimate effect. According to the Health Care Financing Agency (HCFA), the venipuncture provision was placed into law under the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA) in order to fight fraud and abuse of the Medicare system. Mr. Speaker, I am committed to ending fraud and abuse. However, I do not support fighting fraud and abuse to the detriment of the Nation's elderly.”