WHO – Wisconsin Homecare Organization

Fuel Cost Relief for Care Givers

June 2008

The continuing unprecedented increase in fuel costs creates a unique burden for providers of home health care. The burden born of escalating fuel costs threatens access to care for homebound patients. Direct care givers are subsidizing Medicare by paying this additional and unreimbursed cost of caring for Medicare patients. A reimbursement pass-through directly to employees of licensed home health care agencies is required to protect the health, dignity and independence of their patients.

Fuel costs: Nationwide and in Wisconsin

The average U.S. prices have gone up 144 percent in the past five years — from $1.67 in May 2003 to $4.02 a gallon this month, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.1 The AAA survey shows gas prices are up almost 10 percent from a month ago and almost 26% higher from year-ago levels.2

Wisconsin’s average cost for a gallon of gas is higher than the national average and has increased by more than 18% in the past year. 3

Subsidization of Medicare creates Wisconsin home care crisis

Wisconsin has more than 5,000 home care providers.4 Wisconsin has more than 70,000 homebound patients.4 In 2007 alone, home care givers drove the equivalent of the Earth’s equatorial circumference more than 2,500 times in their mission of care and compassion.5 At the national average of 25 miles per gallon,6 Wisconsin’s home care providers have faced an additional half million dollars in gas costs in one year alone.

This is additional cost that comes from the pockets of individual direct care givers – the men and women out there, on the road, caring for our homebound patients – and constitutes a subsidy of the Medicare program by these care givers. The cost of the subsidy continues to rise.

Home care providers, being at the low end of the health care wage range, simply cannot afford to absorb these costs on behalf of the Medicare program. Anecdotal evidence already finds providers leaving home care and agencies reducing their service areas, both of which imperil access to care for homebound patients.

1 As reported by the Associated Press: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gTlyAyhKGpX3NL4hsAAnAhpRuJswD910EPH00

2 As reported by CNN: http://money.cnn.com/2008/06/02/news/economy/gas_price/

3 AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report http://www.fuelgaugereport.com/WIavg.asp

4 Wisconsin Home Health Agencies and Patients http://www.dhfs.state.wi.us/provider/pdf/05hh&p.pdf

5 19.4 million miles according to a Wisconsin Homecare Organization member survey May 2008 6 As reported by MSNBC http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24258714/