Sen. Frank Moss Dies

"Father of Home Care"

January 29, 2003
Frank E. "Ted" Moss, 91, a Utah Democrat who served in the U.S. Senate from 1959 to 1977, died in Salt Lake City today. He was known to many as the "father" of the Medicare home care and hospice benefit.

His colleagues referred to him as the “conscience of the Senate” and elevated him to the number three-ranking post in the Senate leadership, secretary of the Democratic Caucus. Moss is one of the troika of Congressional leaders recognized as doing the most to advance programs for the aging and chronically ill, the others being Hubert Humphrey and Claude Pepper.

Moss was an early proponent of Medicare and played a major role in making home health care a benefit of the program.

Moss was also an advocate of consumer protection and was one of the early sponsors of legislation that creating the Consumer Product Safety Commission. In 1971, after more than a decade of failed attempts, he co-sponsored successful legislation that banned cigarette advertising on radio and television.

Moss was defeated by Republican Orrin Hatch in 1976. Hatch had campaigned largely on the issue of Sen. Moss' age.

“The death of Sen. Moss diminishes us all,” said Val J. Halamandaris, President of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice. “At the same time it gives us an opportunity to celebrate the life of the man that Congressman Claude Pepper said had done the most to advance the interests of older Americans. His contributions after leaving the Senate, and particularly his helping to create the Caring Institute, an organization dedicated to the promotion of caring, integrity and public service, are every bit as impressive as the deeds he accomplished while he was in office.”

At his death, Moss was board chairman of the Caring Institute, a Washington-based humanitarian organization, and senior counsel of the National Association for Home Care and Hospice.