Posted on Tuesday, March 14, 2017 1:43 PM
The National Association of Home Care & Hospice has joined forces with several other organizations to sign a letter encouraging senior members of Congress to support the Independence at Home Act (S.464), bipartisan legislation which would also expand the independence at home (IAH) demonstration project.
The letter shows appreciation towards Senators Ed Markey (D-MA), John Cornyn (R-TX), Rob Portman (R-OH) and Michael Bennett (D-CO) for “championing this legislation” and looks forward to their “continued collaboration to improve access to care for this high-needs population.”
For the past five years, the IAH project, 1866E of the Medicare Act, has provided home-based primary care to over 10,000 elderly Americans with severe chronic illness and disability. Interdisciplinary teams are used to manage all medical and social services in eligible patients’ homes.
IAH is effective because:
• It provides complex care to all levels with high-cost beneficiaries
• An interdisciplinary team is available to provide care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and to offer in-home visits within 48 hours of hospital or emergency room discharge
• It prevents unnecessary hospitalizations and misuse of medications
• It discourages overuse of services with shared savings incentives
• Assures better patient and family experience with high quality of clinical outcomes
• It shows that Home-Based Primary Care (HBPC) improves quality of care and reduces cost for ill elderly Americans
• The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) found that IAH practices saved over $32 million during the first two performance years while delivering high quality patient care in the home
The number of Americans aged 65 and older will nearly double in the next 20 years to more than 72 million. In addition, over two million Americans live on a daily basis with disability and multiple chronic illnesses.
The Independence at Home Act of 2017 will prepare Americans for a future of aging happily in their own homes with the support of their loved ones and best medical care.
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