[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 146 (Wednesday, October 14, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H10886-H10887]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        IN SUPPORT OF H.R. 4567

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Moran) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MORAN of Kansas. Mr. Speaker, I rise this afternoon to once again 
urge passage of legislation that this body passed several days ago, in 
fact last Saturday we passed H.R. 4567, which provides funding for home 
health care agencies hardest hit by changes made in last year's 
Medicare bill. Unfortunately the Senate has yet to address this 
legislation, and it is an awfully critical issue for the senior 
citizens as well as home health care providers in the State of Kansas 
and across the country.
  While I recognize the need to curb Medicare costs, we need to direct 
changes at fraud, waste and abuse. The changes that we made last year 
in many cases were simply across-the-board cuts in funding, and 
unfortunately this has had a dramatic impact on some of the most cost-
effective providers in our communities across the country.
  H.R. 4567 would provide relief for our senior citizens in need of 
home health care. These issues are critical to many senior citizens.
  Many senior citizens have attempted to keep their loved ones in home. 
Many people have tried to stay in their home, and they are only able to 
do so because of the benefits of home health care.
  In my home State of Kansas, a number of those agencies that provide 
home health care services have already closed their doors. And for the 
people that they provide services to in rural areas and small 
communities, the loss of their home health care agency often means a 
loss of this service, resulting in increased cost and a lessening of 
the quality of life.
  Home health services provide senior citizens with the opportunity to 
remain in their own homes with their own families, and ultimately they 
save

[[Page H10887]]

Medicare program costs, which exist because of the alternative being 
hospital care or long-term care.
  While this legislation is not a perfect solution, it does represent a 
step in the right direction. Congress knew that this payment system was 
flawed in the home health care area and assured our senior citizens 
that there would be a short-term fix. We now know that this new 
``short-term fix'' will last a long time, causing continual problems 
for home health care agencies and the people that they serve.
  This new payment system that we are told is waiting in the wings is 
now not going to be ready until next year and perhaps not even until 
the following year.
  We simply cannot afford to close this session of Congress without the 
Senate addressing the bill that the House has already passed, without 
incurring dire consequences to the citizens of this country.
  The Medicare home health care patients in this country and in Kansas 
desperately need reforms. I urge the Senate to join the House in 
passing this bipartisan legislation.

                          ____________________