Another of the featured speakers at the 2011 National Association for Home Care & Hospice annual convention in Las Vegas was Senator Amy Klobucher (D-MN). Senator Klobucher touched on several important issues that will affect home health and hospice.

Focus on the Delivery System

While health care reform as written in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is important, we need to focus on the delivery system. We need to reduce the cost of delivering health care while improving the quality of care outcomes. We need to follow the model of Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, and we could save billions.

Reduce the Debt

We have to do something about the national debt. The current trend is unsustainable. The solution is a combination of revenue growth and spending cuts.

The Silver Tsunami

The number of seniors over the age of 65 is doubling by 2030. As a country we need to prepare for this coming wave of seniors who will consume significantly more health care services.

Clarifying Long Term Care Insurance

The senator discussed new legislation to clarify long term care insurance. “People don’t buy insurance because they don’t understand it.”