Once again, by cutting reimbursement, patients lose and health care costs go up:

Current proposals before Congress could reduce those reimbursement rates, however, making home visits a less attractive option for doctors.

That would be a shame, because one of the fastest-growing segments of the U.S. population is those 85 and up. Many are, like Kurzweil’s mother, frail and in need of multiple medications and frequent doctor’s care. Since it’s hard to get around, they often delay seeking treatment until an illness is full blown and then call 911. That becomes time consuming and costly and can lead to a family crisis. “When elderly patients go to the emergency room, doctors are very uncomfortable about sending them home” right away, says Dr. Joseph W. Spooner of Care Level Management in Woodland Hills, Calif. “So they admit them, and patients stay three or four days.”