[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11491]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        SUPPORT H. CON. RES. 133

  (Mr. BOUSTANY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. BOUSTANY. Mr. Speaker, many Americans lack protection from 
catastrophic long-term care expenses related to chronic illnesses and 
disabilities. Worse yet, many of these families assume Medicare will 
pay for long-term care services, while it generally does not.
  Despite funding from Congress for long-term care education 
activities, the Department of Health and Human Services has done little 
to inform families and caregivers of this confusion.
  HHS has neglected to clarify these Medicare misperceptions with at 
least 90 percent of households contacted through its long-term care 
awareness direct mail campaign. HHS has a duty to use other 
communication methods to inform families.
  I recently introduced a bipartisan resolution with Representative 
Stephanie Herseth Sandlin to encourage Secretary Leavitt to be more 
proactive on this issue, so Americans can have greater independence, 
choice and control over the services they need in the setting they 
prefer.
  I urge my colleagues to support H. Con. Res. 133.

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