Thad Cochran: “the statements made by the Senator from Missouri are, I'm sad to say, quite true. Most recent official figures from 29…”

“the statements made by the Senator from Missouri are, I'm sad to say, quite true. Most recent official figures from 29 state health departments indicate that close to 800 agencies have closed in those states. This number represents parent agencies; other data from the states indicate that the number of agencies and branches that have closed is much higher. We also know that there are many more agencies on the brink of closing if some relief from IPS is not provided soon. If the current rate of closures continues, we could easily see a loss of 2,000 more home health agencies by October 1, 1999. Agency closing are resulting in significant beneficiary care access problems. In fact, a recent GAO study found that two-thirds of discharge planners and more than a third of the aging organizations surveyed reported having had difficulty obtaining home health care for Medicare patients in the last year, especially those who need multiple weekly visits over an extended period of time. Matters will only get worse as agencies become more and more limited in their ability to provide needed services. In fact, in testimony before the Ways and Means Committee in August, Ms. Gail Wilensky, former head of the Health Care Financing Administration, warned that, if the Congress waits for proof that a crisis is occurring in home care before it acts, it will be too late.”