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REMARKS BY: TOMMY G. THOMPSON, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES PLACE: Nursing Quality Initiative-News Conference, Washington, D.C. DATE: November 19, 2001
I'd also like to thank Ken Kiser from the National Quality Forum, John Rother of A-A-R-P, Andy Stern of the S-E-I-U, Larry Minnix of the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging and Mary Ousley of the American Healthcare Association. And I want to recognize George Christopher of Woodbine for hosting today's announcement.
We're here today to talk about an issue that is absolutely critical to millions of American families - choosing a nursing home or another source of residential care for oneself or one's loved ones.
There's hardly a family in the country that doesn't wrestle at some point with how to care for aging parents or grandparents or other beloved relatives and friends who are no longer able to care for themselves but who need first-rate professional care.
So today, we're announcing what we believe is the most significant step in many years toward giving people covered by Medicare and Medicaid the ability to choose the kind of care that best meets their individual needs.
Our plan will provide reliable information about the facilities available to families having to make the tough decision to initiate nursing care for a loved one.
Starting in January of next year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will begin a five state demonstration project to help people who rely on Medicare and Medicaid programs and their family members find the best nursing homes for their individual needs. The project will identify, collect and publish nursing home quality information in five states: Colorado, Maryland, Ohio, Rhode Island and Washington State.
The quality standards identified will be published in April 2002 and will draw attention to the critical importance of making sure that our seniors have the best possible care our society can provide.
The way nursing homes perform differs from place to place. And even when quality is high, what's good for one patient might not be good for another. By developing tangible standards of performance, we will provide people with the kind of reliable information they need to make important life decisions.
Our efforts will help beneficiaries all across the country to compare the performance of their local nursing homes and will provide recognition to high-quality nursing homes, as well.
We're going to put the information on-line at www.medicare.gov and will be promoting it locally through Quality Improvement Organizations, formerly know as Medicare Peer Review Organizations. In creating this demonstration project, we have worked closely with many groups, as their presence at today's event demonstrates. But we are not stopping here. We'll also be holding a series of national quality hearings later this year to find out what seniors need and want.
We'll continue to seek comment from advocacy groups, healthcare purchasers and providers and, most importantly, from the men and women directly affected by the decisions we make - those receiving nursing home care.
When information is easily understood and widely publicized, it can help foster higher quality and better services. And there can be no group of people to whom that's more important than retirees who need personal, decent and responsible care in their twilight years.
I'd be remiss not to mention that this effort fits into the President's larger agenda of modernizing and strengthening the Medicare system. We need a Medicare system that includes a prescription drug benefit, improved preventive benefits and greater flexibility for Medicare to create incentives providing high- quality, error-free care to America's seniors.
Whether they choose traditional fee-for-service Medicare or private health plans, retirees deserve a dependable, top-quality Medicare program.
President Bush and I are dedicated to working with Congress in a bipartisan way to help ensure that Medicare keeps its promise not only to today's seniors but also to the seniors of tomorrow.
So, I'm so very pleased and excited to be announcing this initiative today. It's a tremendous way to take care for older men and women to the next level.
Now let me turn to my friend and colleague Ken Kiser of the National Quality Forum, who will talk in some detail about the quality measures.