Increased Gas Prices Prompt Many Home Health Agencies To Reduce Services for Elderly Clients

Many agencies that provide home health and other services to elderly clients have begun to reduce their services as a result of increased gasoline prices, with the problem most prevalent among agencies in rural areas, the New York Times reports. According to a survey recently released by the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, half of the agencies have reduced services because of increased gas prices, and 90% plan to reduce services in fiscal year 2009.

The agencies maintain that they face a shortage of workers because the jobs are low paying and require a large amount of travel for only a few hours of work. A survey recently released by the National Association for Home Care and Hospice found that in 2006 home health and hospice workers drove 4.8 billion miles to serve 12 million clients.

The agencies have asked Congress to factor increased gas prices into Medicare reimbursements and to reinstate special increases in reimbursements for those in rural areas included in a program that expired in 2006. Val Halamandaris, president of NAHC, said, "If we lose these agencies in rural areas, we'll never get them back" (Leland, New York Times, 7/5).