Home Healthcare Community Praises Senator George Allen for Standing Up for Virginia's Seniors

RICHMOND, Va., Oct. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Participants in the Bring the Vote Home initiative today thanked candidate for U.S. Senate George Allen for supporting Virginia seniors by speaking out about the value of home healthcare services for the state's Medicare beneficiaries.

Bring the Vote Home is a nationwide initiative to help senior, disabled and homebound Americans and their clinicians cast their votes this election year. Virginia's home healthcare community, which represents 83,000 Medicare home health beneficiaries and more than 12,200 skilled home health clinicians, is taking part in this national effort.

Bring the Vote Home is also offering lawmakers an opportunity to express their views about home healthcare via the initiative's website at www.bringthevotehome.org.

"Expanding the ability of seniors to choose to receive the treatment they need in the setting they desire — their homes — is good for families and good for taxpayers," said Senator George Allen.  "Technology is expanding options that make it possible for seniors to maintain their independence and receive care at home, where they are generally happier and healthier.  Virginia has been a leader in helping give seniors greater access to home healthcare, and in the U.S. Senate, I will work to make sure the federal government supports that choice where appropriate."

Bring the Vote Home is a collective effort by home healthcare community leaders to offer the nation's 12 million home healthcare patients – including 3.5 million Medicare beneficiaries – the opportunity to vote this election cycle.  Because Medicare beneficiaries must be homebound to be eligible for Medicare's home healthcare benefit, it is challenging for them to travel to polling spots.  Bring the Vote Home offers both home health patients and their clinicians access to online tools and educational materials with detailed information on how to officially register or obtain an absentee ballot.

"We thank Senator Allen for recognizing the great value home healthcare brings to our state's seniors, the Medicare program and the healthcare delivery system as a whole," said Marcia Tetterton, Executive Director Virginia Association for Home Care. "We encourage other lawmakers to oppose any proposals for cuts to seniors' home healthcare because they ultimately limit patient access to patient-preferred home healthcare."

Bring the Vote Home is a nationwide citizenship project coordinated by the Council for State Home Care Associations, Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare, and other home health community members to help America's approximately 12 million home healthcare patients, including 3.5 Medicare beneficiaries, and skilled healthcare professionals exercise their right to vote in national and state elections this November.  To learn more, visit www.bringthevotehome.org.

SOURCE Bring the Vote Home

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