[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 112 (Wednesday, September 20, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1549]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     HOME HEALTH OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY SHOULD BE COVERED BY MEDICARE

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                         HON. ROBERT E. ANDREWS

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 20, 2000

  Mr. ANDREWS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to co-
sponsor an important bill related to the Medicare Home Health benefit. 
I recently introduced H.R. 4874, the Medicare Occupational Therapy 
Coverage Eligibility Act of 2000. This bill would amend title XVIII of 
the Social Security Act to provide for eligibility for coverage of home 
health services under the Medicare Program on the basis of a need for 
occupational therapy.
  Occupational therapy is regarded as a full rehabilitation benefit 
under Medicare in every post-acute benefit except home health. This is 
a historical problem that should have been corrected when occupational 
therapy was included as a free-standing benefit in 1987. This 
correction is long overdue. It will provide beneficiaries immediate 
access to occupational therapy--a service targeted toward increasing 
self-sufficiency and function in the home--if they need it as part of 
their home health care plan. Physicians will be able to prescribe 
occupational therapy immediately without the requirement that nursing 
or another service be provided first. Additionally, home health 
agencies will have more flexibility in designing care plans based on 
clinical appropriateness and not on an outmoded Medicare requirement.
  Occupational therapy is focused on helping individuals become more 
independent. That is why I believe that the inclusion of occupational 
therapy coverage by Medicare in the home health benefit will actually 
decrease the dependence of individuals on home health services. This 
bill will help seniors to lead better, more independent lives. I urge 
my colleagues to support putting occupational therapy on an equal 
footing as a rehabilitation benefit in home health, just as it is in 
rehabilitation hospitals and skilled nursing facilities.

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