Exciting Update on Legislation to Strengthen Medicare Home Health Reforms

In February, bipartisan lawmakers in the Senate introduced legislation to refine new home health payment reforms. Now, the House of Representatives has taken action to do the same! 

This week, Representatives Terri Sewell, Vern Buchanan and Ralph Abraham, along with eight of their bipartisan colleagues, introduced H.R. 2573. This bipartisan bill represents a major step forward in protecting beneficiary access to quality care services which otherwise could be compromised for America’s growing senior population.

The bill specifically addresses reforms in the Patient Driven Groupings Model (PDGM), a payment model finalized by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services last year and slated for implementation in 2020.  If implemented as designed, PDGM will make payment adjustments based on behavioral assumptions as opposed to observed evidence or actual provider billing behaviors. The new payment structure could result in a 6.42 percent payment reduction in the first year alone – equaling an estimated $1 billion in 2020.

Home health advocates, including the Partnership, strongly support H.R. 2573 and S. 433. By putting patients first, these bills will protect beneficiary access to home health services and prevent disruptions in patient care by ensuring that home health payments to providers of care are not cut by $1 billion in 2020.

You can advocate for these important pieces of legislation by sending emails to your lawmakers and submitting a letter to the editor to your local newspaper! Click below to take action.