As government leadership continues to transition amid ongoing confirmation hearings in Congress, the new head of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), who is likely to be confirmed by the Senate soon, provided some reassurance during a Senate hearing of the value of home-based services.
Rep. Tom Price (R-GA), who has been nominated by President Trump to lead HHS, confirmed that home-based care should be incentivized if it’s right for patients. The response came up during Price’s second confirmation hearing in with Senators, where he was asked his personal opinions about health care priorities, the Affordable Care Act, the Republican plan for a health care insurance replacement plan and much more.
While the Congressman was vague on other details related to the repeal and replace promises by Republicans, Price also signaled that he may be in favor of continuing better access to some services without co-pays and other deductibles. He also agreed that attention to Alzheimer’s disease and dementia treatments and care is “imperative,” noting that he would work with Congress to address the proportionality of resources dedicated to Alzheimer’s disease.
Home health associations have largely been supportive of Price’s nomination, as they are hopeful his confirmation could bring forth an abrupt end to the Pre-Claim Review Demonstration (PCRD). The demonstration is currently underway in Illinois and is set to go into effect in Florida in April 2017.
Price has been a vocal advocate for ending the demonstration, which has been a bumpy rollout at best. In fact, Price sponsored a bill in 2016 that would put a one-year moratorium on the demonstration.
Written by Amy Baxter
Photo source: ‘Tom Price‘ by Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0
