Chuck Grassley: “Today I am joining Senator Feingold of Wisconsin in introducing the Medicare Home Health Refinement Act of 2000. I want…”

“Today I am joining Senator Feingold of Wisconsin in introducing the Medicare Home Health Refinement Act of 2000. I want to thank my colleague for inviting me to join him in this effort to preserve our nation's home health providers. In my work as Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, of which Senator Feingold is a member, I have been monitoring our nation's critical home health care system closely. In 1997, we investigated distressing examples of fraud and abuse among a few home health agencies (HHAs). In 1998, I chaired a hearing on the devastating effects of the Interim Payment System (IPS) for home health. Unfortunately, my legislative efforts to improve the payment system that year were blocked. Last year, the Aging Committee held a hearing on the new OASIS information collection instrument, and on the burden it imposed on home care providers. At this point in 2000, the main challenge facing our system of home care is the new Prospective Payment System (PPS), which will take effect on October 1 of this year. We've been working toward this for many years, and I am gratified that it will finally happen. The Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) published the final PPS rule on June 28, and I was pleased to hear that many home health providers consider it an improvement over the proposed rule. After the trauma of the Interim Payment System, I have high hopes that the PPS will be great news for our Medicare beneficiaries who need home care.”