What’s in a Name?

Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kans.) has lent his name to some of the most important homecare bills in the past few years including the Hatch Conrad Bill (S. 1428) and the Cardiac Pulmonary Rehab Bill (S.329). As a new member of the Senate Finance Committee in the 110th Congress, Roberts has the opportunity to give increased leadership on legislation in health care and Medicare issues.

Senator Ken Salazar (D-Colo.) is also a member of the Senate Finance Committee and has been a champion of homecare. He is committed to working with the industry to come up with a viable solution for payment reform and also signed his name to the HOPP Act. He has tackled the challenge of providing affordable health care by fighting to broaden the Children’s Health Insurance Program and by working to improve health care for older Americans.

Representative Altmire (D-Pa.) serves as Chairman of the Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee of the House Small Business Committee, which recently held a hearing to discuss the impact of competitive bidding on small providers. He has actively participated in homecare discussions during his first term in the United States House of Representatives.

Another important name for the homecare community is Laurence D. Wilson, Director of the Chronic Care Policy Group at the Center for Medicare Management, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Mr. Wilson will be speaking during the competitive bidding forum at this year’s legislative conference.

The Director of the office of Management and Budget, Jim Nussle will be providing his perspective on the outlook for the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

Each of these “great names” in homecare will be speaking at the AAHomecare 2008 Washington Legislative Conference along with other industry champions and knowledgeable advocates.

For full details and a tentative agenda please visit www.aahomecare.org.