Letter of the Week: Medicare’s in-home care rules hurt seniors

In-home care

Medicare’s home health benefit is regarded as a clinically appropriate and cost-effective health-care setting preferred by American seniors. As seniors manage chronic conditions and myriad health challenges, Medicare’s home health benefit offers access to care that keeps patients at home and out of the hospital.

Despite the clinical and fiscal benefits, Medicare would like to require prior authorization of home health services. This means that after a patient’s physician prescribes home health, a government bureaucrat would be charged with reviewing the order and deciding whether the care is warranted.

All the while, a sick and weak senior is at home, with no medical supervision, waiting for Medicare’s response.

Considering that many patients are prescribed home health care when leaving the hospital, a prior authorization requirement is troubling.

Medicare hopes its policy would reduce fraud and abuse in the home health sector, but there is no evidence prior authorization would deter bad actors from taking advantage of the system.

I urge state lawmakers to oppose home health prior authorization under consideration by the Medicare agency.

Lynette Droge of Kansas City, Kan., is an occupational therapist with Encompass Home Health in Lenexa. She received a bachelor’s in occupational studies at Kansas State University and a master’s in occupational therapy at the University of Kansas.

This story was originally published June 12, 2016 at 3:00 PM with the headline "Letter of the Week: Medicare’s in-home care rules hurt seniors."