[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16556]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               HOME HEALTH CARE PLANNING IMPROVEMENT ACT

  (Mr. GUINTA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GUINTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise to bring attention to the dire need 
for nurses in the Granite State. The New Hampshire Union Leader--my 
newspaper of Manchester, New Hampshire--reports the need will only 
increase as our population ages and more nurses reach retirement.
  Also, healthcare facilities are concentrated outside the State, 
increasing the need for healthcare practitioners in New Hampshire. I 
recently hosted a Manchester Job Fair to help meet the need, and I am a 
proud cosponsor of the Home Health Care Planning Improvement Act of 
2015.
  Right now, according to Medicare rules, a nurse practitioner may not 
prescribe home healthcare services for beneficiaries. They must seek a 
doctor's permission, a process that would take weeks in rural areas 
like northern New Hampshire.
  The New Hampshire Nurse Practitioner Association visited me in 
Washington last month to tell me about this critical problem. Current 
rules add extra time and cost to home health care. Qualified nurses 
should be able to make the best decisions for their patients, 
especially in the isolated or homebound arena.
  The Home Health Care Planning Improvement Act would allow nurses to 
do their jobs and help patients recover. It is time to remove a 
needless layer of bureaucracy and give them the tools they need to 
succeed.

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