Home Health Leaders Descend on Capitol Hill to Advocate Against Medicare Home Health Cuts

Washington, DC—Home health leaders representing the Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare and the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) today traveled to Washington, DC to urge members of Congress to prevent a newly proposed 7.69% payment cut to home healthcare services from going into effect in 2023. Included in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Home Health Prospective Payment System (HHPPS) for Calendar Year (CY) 2023, steep payment cuts threaten patient access to care while also creating increased instability across a highly preferred senior care setting.

CMS’ proposal would equate to $1.33 billion in 2023 alone, and additional cuts of more than $2 billion would come as soon as 2024 due to an unjustified “clawback” of payments for critical home healthcare services delivered to seniors and people with disabilities during the pandemic. According to estimates, the total impact of the 7.69% permanent adjustment to the Medicare home health program from 2023-2032 will total $15.15 billion. On top of this, the impact of the “clawback” of the temporary adjustment brings the total 2023-2032 impact to an estimated $18.15 billion.

Home healthcare providers and caregivers have already been hit hard by the impact of the pandemic, and additional payment cuts would exacerbate the current workforce and inflation crises, threatening access to care and negatively impacting the ability of providers to meet patient need amidst growing demand for care in the home.

Home health leaders are deeply disappointed that CMS has proposed such deep rate cuts and are troubled by the significant challenges this will pose to providers, particularly those in small, rural, and medically underserved communities. Today, home health leaders from the Partnership and NAHC are on Capitol Hill asking Congress to intervene through bipartisan legislation to prevent the implementation of these harmful cuts in 2023.

The Partnership and NAHC, along with others in the home health community, are calling on Congress to support bipartisan legislation to prevent these harmful cuts. “We urge Congress to step in and advance legislation to prevent these severe cuts from being implemented in 2023. Home health is widely preferred by patients and their families. At a time when home-based care is needed for the health and safety of seniors, we will work with our champions in Congress to ensure that the delivery of quality patient care and the stability of our community are protected,” said Joanne Cunningham, CEO of the Partnership.

“Home health services bring proven value to patients and Medicare with high-quality care that is cost-effective. This proposal would jeopardize the continued availability of thousands of providers throughout the country,” added William A. Dombi, President, National Association for Home Care & Hospice.

To learn more about the proposed HHPPS cuts, click here.

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