New York’s home-care community supports efforts to eliminate clear-cut instances of Medicaid fraud. However, we caution against the unfair labeling of an entire system committed to quality patient care (“Cuomo on the Case,” Editorial, May 6).

Last year, professionals statewide conducted nearly 12 million home-health visits to Medicaid patients with the goal of preventing hospital or nursing home admission or reducing a patient’s chances of being readmitted to the hospital.

Home health care faces significant challenges: workforce shortages; soaring fuel costs and growing patient-care demands that are partly the result of shrinking nursing home capacity and state policy incentives to shorten hospital stays.

Unfortunately, there are a few cases where individuals infiltrate the system to commit fraud, further undermining the system. These instances must not overshadow efforts by the majority who make the system work.

Joanne Cunningham

President Home Care

Association of New York State, Albany