Kent Conrad: “I want to comment on the home health proposal that is before us and ask the Chairman of the Finance Committee to clarify…”

“I want to comment on the home health proposal that is before us and ask the Chairman of the Finance Committee to clarify his intentions with regard to addressing this issue in the next Congress. The current home health interim payment system isn't working. Under the current system, those agencies that abused the system and milked Medicare for every possible reimbursement dollar are rewarded with generous cost limits. However, North Dakota agencies that did not abuse the system, that worked hard to keep their costs down, are penalized with unrealistically low limits. Not only is this terribly unfair, it creates a terrible incentive for efficient, low-cost agencies to go out of business and transfer their employees and their customers to agencies that have ripped off the system. This system clearly penalizes North Dakota home health agencies and the beneficiaries who rely on their services. The median per beneficiary cost limit for North Dakota home health agencies is the second lowest in the country--a mere $2150 per year. In fact, the agency in North Dakota with the highest limit has a cap that is below the lowest limit in the state of Mississippi. There is no rational basis for this sort of inequity. Unfortunately, the proposal before us today takes only the smallest of steps toward correcting this inequity and leaves in place too many of the current incentives that favor high cost, wasteful home health agencies.”