What Do the Midterm Election Results Portend for Home Care and Hospice?

NAHC works with both parties and supports those candidates who support home care and hospice. While NAHC laments the loss of some home care champions in Congress and lauds the election of others, several bigger picture conclusions spring from the mid-term election results.

• NAHC has always enjoyed strong support in the Senate, as evidenced by the fact that 76 Senators signed a letter this September protesting any further cuts in home care.  This support will continue.  The new Democratic committee chairmen are as committed -- or even more so -- than were their Republican predecessors to home care and hospice issues.

• The home care and hospice community has gained standing in the House owing to the fact that the incoming Committee chairmen have historically been great supporters of our industry.  This is more a function of personality and interests rather than of politics. 

• The above point notwithstanding, serious budget problems remain.  The deficits built up by years of funding the war in Iraq are forcing difficult choices.  Members of Congress from both parties have received the message loud and clear—people want fiscal responsibility.  They want balanced budgets and reduction of the debt.  The Medicare program will remain a target because of the infusion of billions of dollars with the enactment of the Medicare Prescription Drug Act in 2003.

• Long term care will become a major issue in the Presidential campaign, which now begins in earnest.  Several potential candidates have already indicated their belief that home care is the best answer to this growing problem.  In the short run, Medicaid dollars for home and community-based care will continue to be expanded.
   

In summary, the November election will likely mean an increase in support for home care in the House of Representatives.  This is not simply because the Democrats won control of the House; rather, it is because those who will be the new Committee chairman, regardless of their party label, have long demonstrated support for home care and hospice.  Home care will continue to be expanded as opposed to institutional care in Medicaid.  The Nation’s Governors will see to that.  A strong majority in both House and Senate will push for the expansion of home care in Medicare as a cost effective alternative that represents what the public wants.

Click Here to view membership rosters of key House and Senate committees with their jurisdictional responsibilities and how members fared in the midterm elections. Special thanks go out to the law firm of Gardner, Carton and Douglas LLP for compiling this useful document.

About NAHC
The National Association for Home Care & Hospice, the industry's oldest and most respected trade group, represents the interests of nearly 20,000 home care agencies and hospice organizations (including approximately 11,500 Medicare-certified home health agencies) that annually serve nearly nine million Americans as well as home care aide organizations, home care giving staff and their clients. NAHC members believe that quality home care and hospice, humane and cost-effective alternatives to institutionalization, are the right of all Americans. Home care and hospice reinforce and supplement the care provided by family members and friends and encourage maximum independence of thought and functioning as well as the preservation of human dignity.