[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 86 (Wednesday, June 15, 2011)]
[House]
[Page H4200]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      MEDICARE HOME INFUSION BILL

  (Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, there are massive 
inefficiencies in Medicare that are causing the program to go bankrupt. 
One example is infusion therapy, or the intravenous delivery of 
medication administered to patients suffering from cancer or serious 
infection for which they cannot just take a pill. But it requires 
specialized equipment and supervision and often lasts several hours a 
day over a period of several weeks. It's very expensive for patients to 
get this care in a hospital.
  Although private plans have been covering home infusion therapy for 
decades, Medicare still forces people to go to a hospital, where they 
also have increased risk for infection by going there, and it costs 
thousands of dollars for delivery, as opposed to hundreds of dollars 
when they get it at home.
  That's why today, Representative Eliot Engel and I are reintroducing 
the Medicare Home Infusion Therapy Coverage Act, so patients can 
receive the same treatment in the comfort and convenience of their home 
at a lower cost. Our bill saves taxpayers money, about $6 billion over 
10 years.
  Mr. Speaker, our proof is that this is one more way we can find 
significant savings in Medicare, or simply wait for the program to go 
bankrupt. And I urge all of my colleagues to support our bill to give 
patients better quality and better care at lower costs.

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