Colorado Home Health Care Agencies ‘Overwhelmed’ by Demand for Care

The Denver Post on Sept. 10 reports on the impact the "severe" nursing shortage and "burdensome government regulations" have had on Colorado home health care agencies, which say they are "overwhelmed by a demand impossible to meet." When the government reduced Medicare reimbursements to home health care providers as part of the 1997 Balanced Budget Act, "scores" of agencies in Colorado were "financially wiped out," and those that remain have fewer funds to pay and recruit staff. The Post reports that when home health care funding became "scarce, so did access to quality care" for those with disabilities. For example, Colorado currently has 130 home health care agencies, compared to 210 prior to the 1997 budget cuts. Rural areas were particularly affected, with many agencies closing, forcing some residents to relocate. Further, the Post reports that with the demand for home nursing outpacing the supply, many agencies have stopped providing care for patients with "severe disabilities or multiple health problems" to care for "less labor-intensive" patients. Since agencies are paid the same regardless of a patient's condition, the Post reports that it is easier to recruit nurses for "easy cases." Agencies, however, say there is "nothing malicious" in how they choose patients, as it is "fruitless" to begin care for a patient if the agency does not have "enough qualified nurses" (Austin, Denver Post, 9/10). For further information on state health policy in Colorado, visit State Health Facts Online.