Could This Pending Law Save Home Health?
Even as Congress is contemplating making further cuts to Medicare payments to physicians, there are laws in the works that could dramatically reduce the administrative burden and costs for home health agencies. The Home Health Care Planning Improvement Act would allow Nurse Practitioners (NPs), Advanced Practice Nurses (ARNPs), and Physician Assistants (PAs) to order home health services under Medicare. A bill that has been slowly moving through both the Senate and the House, a recent study commissioned by National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) found the Home Health Care Planning Improvement Act could potentially do even more to improve quality of care to millions of Americans.
It is well documented within our industry that even well meaning physicians can be a stumbling block when it comes to processing documentation in a timely and relevant manner. Often the delays in paperwork limit a patient’s access to home health and place an increased burden on an agency’s administrative resources.
In the scope of the NAHC study, researchers analyzed Medicare claims from 2009. They discovered that out of nearly 6.5 million home health episodes, physicians billed for only 2.96 million certifications or re-certifications. That is a disappointingly low 46 percent of episodes. Based on the assumption that if the law passes, all home health episodes of care would have an accompanying certification/recertification claim for Medicare payment, the study estimates savings in 2011 would be $6.3 million, with a savings of $80.4 million over the next five years.
Why is this bill stuck in committee? Once again, it all comes back to the need for nurses to be allowed to practice independently and the long-standing traditions that want to hang onto governance, licensing, and control of the nursing profession. Personally, I believe if nurses were allowed to sign their own orders as physicians currently do, the quality of care and attention to the home healthcare patient would go up as well.
The Home Health Care Planning Improvement Act is a wonderful opportunity for home health. I encourage everyone to sign the NAHC Legislative Action Network’s petition in support of this legislation and urge your Senators and Representative to pass the Home Health Care Planning Improvement Act in the upcoming lame duck session.
Category: Ginny's Blog, Healthcare Reform, Uncategorized