Home Health Leaders Stress Value of COVID-19 Relief Funds

WASHINGTON – Joanne Cunningham, Executive Director of the Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare – a coalition of home health providers dedicated to improving the integrity, quality, and efficiency of home healthcare for our nation’s seniors – made the following statement commending the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and lawmakers in Congress for securing the availability of federal relief funding to protect patient care, healthcare delivery and American jobs throughout the ongoing COVID-19 public health crisis:

“As dedicated providers of home healthcare services to vulnerable American seniors and persons with disabilities, the Partnership and its collective membership applaud Congress and the administration for providing a critical safety net of financial support, both from the Provider Relief Fund and Paycheck Protection Program. These funds have helped to support the home health community during the pandemic, and have supported agencies experiencing increased operational costs associated with acquiring personal protective equipment (PPE), regular staff screening, additional infection control training, and increased compliance measures. All of these measures have aided efforts to ensure the safety and care of the Medicare home health patient community.

We believe that providers who were awarded and accepted these taxpayer dollars should be diligent in how these funds are used, both in the delivery of quality patient care and ensuring our front-line clinicians are protected. COVID-19 relief funds should be utilized on efforts to strengthen the Medicare program and support the countless patients we are so privileged to serve.”

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