Having just returned from Washington DC seems a good time to be quoting from our a favorite philosopher comic Steven Wright who's observations always manage to be both spot on and funny. It so often seems that when it comes to getting something done in Washington, it's hard to get anything, even from the best intentioned officials. Because it's a zero sum proposition (government term: budget neutrality). When it came to talking about how we need our elected officials to stand up for home care and against cuts to a service area that has gone from about 9% of Medicare spending in the late 1990's to less than 4% today, even our best supporters need to identify who - or what other program - to "take the funds" from.
That having been said, I am proud to say that Massachusetts Congressman Jim McGovern, along with Rep Doug Petersen (R-PA), is taking the lead in the US House of Representatives in getting sponsors on a letter to the budget committee leadership in support of retaining the full funding update for home health required under current law.
Home care agencies have turned to Congressman McGovern before and he has always come through for us. We and our patients owe him our thanks.
More on this to come.
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