Action Alert :

Please encourage your congressional legislators to add their names as cosponsors of the Home Health Care Access Protection Act (H.R. 5803; S. 3315) introduced by Reps. Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Walter Jones (R-NC) and Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Russ Feingold (D-WI). Go to NAHC Report, 7/15/10 for more information about this bill.


In light of the recent CMS rule that proposes to cut home health payments by 3.79 percent in 2010 and 3.79 in 2011 based on an unfounded allegation of "case mix creep" (NAHC Report, 7/19/10), this legislation is vitally important to preserve access to home health services because it would establish a fairer and more transparent process for evaluating case mix changes. Home health advocates also should ask their legislators to convey these significant concerns about payment cuts to CMS.

Click here and enter your zip code to find your federal legislators and their contact information. To access the text of the House bill and a list of House cosponsors, click here. To see the text of the Senate bill and a list of Senate cosponsors, click here. If your legislators have not yet cosponsored H.R. 5803 or S. 3315, please contact their offices and encourage them to do so. When calling, ask to speak with the staffer who handles Medicare issues. For talking points, click here.

To send an email on this issue to your members of Congress using the NAHC Legislative Action Network, click here. We encourage you to edit the sample email provided there by adding information about your own background and experience and the impact these payment cuts could have on home health patients in your state.