American Health Care Association Van Tour Advocating Against Scheduled Medicare Home Health Cuts

In an attempt to convince Congress to prevent a scheduled cut in Medicare payments to nursing homes from taking effect, the American Health Care Association is gathering signatures while on a 45-state van tour, the Tallahassee Democrat reports. The "Driving for Quality Care" van, which stopped in Tallahassee, Fla., on July 15, has gathered 45,000 signatures so far. The tour started in Houston on March 26 and will end in Washington, D.C., sometime in late September (Nelson, Tallahassee Democrat, 7/16). Under changes mandated by the 1997 Balanced Budget Amendment, home health agencies face a 15% cut in their Medicare payments Oct. 15 (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 5/7). Ed Towey, a spokesperson for the Florida Hospital Association, which is sponsoring the Florida portion of the trip, said the cuts would lead to "reduced access to nursing home care for seniors" (Tallahassee Democrat, 7/16).