WASHINGTON, July 27, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The
Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare today applauded the
National Hispanic Council on Aging (NHCOA) and members of the
Diverse Elders Coalition (DEC) – a group of national
organizations dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for our
nation’s diverse aging communities – for issuing a July 21
letter addressed to President Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry
Reid (D-NV), House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Members of
Congress, in which the groups expressed strong opposition to
implementing a co-payment requirement for Medicare homecare health
services. The groups stated particular concern for the impact a
co-pay would have on the nation’s aging racially and ethnically
diverse and LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender)
populations.
Of greatest concern to the DEC members is the financial impact a
co-pay would have on the populations they represent, particularly
considering that the average income for a Medicare beneficiary in
2009 was $22,000. The letter notes that because beneficiaries
of Medicare home health services are unable to seek employment
outside the home and dependent upon Medicare to pay for their
health costs, imposing a co-pay would do further financial harm to
many seniors who can scarcely afford to support themselves.
The groups are urging the President and Congress to focus on
eliminating fraud and abuse within the Medicare program in order to
reduce healthcare costs, instead of implementing a mandatory co-pay
on seniors. The DEC actively supports efforts to reduce
Medicare fraud and abuse among its members, and promotes several
cost-effective home health programs which assist patients in
identifying and treating health issues before there is a need for
the level of care Medicare provides.
Excerpts from the letter include:
“Racially and ethnically diverse and LGBT older adults would
face tremendous difficulty if
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