Letter: Home-care is overregulated
An elder care nurse holds the hand of an woman in a wheelchair (Feb. 25, 2008) Credit: AP
Every day, more than 10,000 baby boomers in the United States turn 65, which is why our focus must be on how to deliver home- and community-based care effectively ["Elderly home-care challenges LI," Opinion, Jan. 17].
The state of home care is fragile, but dedicated. Home-care providers are facing many challenges and doing a remarkable job delivering care with limited budgets and new unfunded state mandates. Long Island has a network of state licensed and certified home-care providers that helps seniors remain in their homes and generates employment.
The home-care industry, however, is in desperate need of relief. Rising transportation costs and regulatory burdens, combined with severely inadequate Medicaid reimbursement, have erected barriers to care. New York State must bolster providers with sufficient funding and policy changes so that we can increase access to care, maintain existing networks, and offer enhanced wages, benefits and education.
Christine Johnston, East Greenbush, N.Y.
Editor's note: The writer is president of the New York State Association of Health Care Providers, a trade association representing home- and community-based care.
