Political Quotes

“I would like to announce my strong support for the Home Health provisions contained in H.R. 4328, the Medicare Home Health Care and Veteran Health Care Improvement Act. First, I would like to extend thanks to Chairmen Thomas, Bliley, Archer, and Bilirakis and their staffs for their hard work and countless hours spent crafting this legislation. Second, I would like to say how pleased I am to see that the 15 percent home health reduction scheduled for October 1, 1999, has been moved back a year. When I wrote my bill, H.r. 4404, the HERO Act, I also made sure to address this problem. I know that without the delay of this draconian provision, the entire industry would likely go bankrupt. This delay now can give HCFA the necessary time to install an efficient prospective payment system. Also, I would like to commend Chairman Thomas on his willingness to stick to his guns on this issue and help the low cost states while at the same time not harming high cost states like mine. His per beneficiary formula does a commendable job in balancing the vast differences in the cost structures of different regions. At the same time H.R. 4328 gives all regions a slight boost in the per visit formula. This is especially important to those who represent rural areas like myself. Finally, I would like to thank members from both sides of the aisle who have worked tirelessly on this subject, especially Congressmen Rahall, Aderholt, Coburn, Pappas, Sanders, Stabenow, and Weygand.”