The specter of copays continues to plague home care providers this budget season.
After being endorsed by the Medicare Pay-ment Advisory Commission and Obama Admini-stration already this year, Senate Budget Committee Chair Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) has proposed a budget plan that includes a 20 percent copay for all Medicare services.
That would translate into a $600 per episode copay for home health and a hospice copay of more than $2,000, says the National Association for Home Care & Hospice. "Studies have shown that copays would threaten access to care and cause a big increase in more costly hospital and nursing home care," the trade group protests.