July 2, 2009 Barriers prevent home health care expansion Play video

(NECN: Latoyia Edwards) - Americans 65 years and older are expected to double in the next 20 years. With people living longer, visiting nurses are being touted as a way to cut medical costs.

NECN's Latoyia Edwards explains why the program is having trouble expanding.

Home health care providers significantly reduce the number of times a patient has to be admitted into a hospital say 89 percent of doctors featured in a new survey.

The president of the Massachusetts Medical Society says his agency's latest survey found a majority of physicians believe nurses, occupational and speech therapists who make house calls save taxpayer dollars especially concerning senior care.

Rick: "We can cut costs dramatically by preventing those re-admittances by having someone go to their houses, make sure their pills are laid out if they have memory problems."

Despite all of the benefits of home health care providers there are some major barriers for using the service and expanding it in the future.

54 percent of physicians surveyed complain of administrative burdens like excessive paperwork

More than half of the doctors say a lack of access to service is a barrier.

And 40 percent of primary care physicians say they struggle to be reimbursed for coordinating home health care for their patients.

85-year-old Mary faces down an aggressive form of lung cancer. She receives home hospice care twice a week- Mary hopes the program can grow.

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He expects that reform to become law nationally this year.