LUBBOCK, Texas – Thousands of veterans across West Texas could soon face fewer options for staying in their own homes after the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reduced reimbursement rates for home health care providers in rural areas.
New VA reimbursement rates that took effect this month cut payments to rural home care agencies by 43% across 247 Texas counties, including much of the South Plains and Panhandle. The reductions are part of a statewide restructuring aimed at standardizing rates, according to the VA.
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Local providers say the changes fail to account for the realities of rural care, were long travel distances and workforce shortages already strain operations.
“This is just a very backwards approach,” said Bradley Madison with ComPassion Personal Care Services in Lubbock. “It’s going to force veterans to be more hospitalized.”…