PQHH Applauds Bipartisan NY Delegation Letter Advocating for Medicare Home Health Care

U.S. Congressman Ritchie Torres (NY-15) and his colleagues across the New York delegation recently submitted a bipartisan letter to Administration officials opposing Medicare’s CY 2025 proposed payment rule that threatens home healthcare. The letter, addressed to President Joe Biden, Director of the Office of Management and Budget Shalanda Young, and Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, calls on leaders to consider pausing the rule change and refining the budget neutrality provision in home health. 

Noting that the Home Health Prospective Payment System (HHPPS) proposed rule “threatens the ability of home health care providers to care for our nation’s senior citizens, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable populations,” the letter urges CMS to reconsider home health reimbursement rate reductions. PQHH strongly supports this call to action, as the proposed Medicare cuts would devastate the future of home health patient access and workforce stability. 

Specifically, the CMS CY2025 proposed home health rule proposes: 

• A permanent -4.067% payment adjustment to home health 
• A payment reduction of more than $2.6 billion in 2025
• A cumulative impact of $8.1 billion from 2020 to 2025
• A wage index cut of up to 5% in many geographic regions across New York State, resulting in combined cuts exceeding 8% in 21 counties

The New York delegation letter calls out CMS’ inability to achieve budget neutrality in transitioning to the Patient Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) for home health patients and the consequential cuts as a result. These cuts not only disrupt patient care, especially for communities that face greater health disparities, but also worsen “home health deserts” where no workforce is available to provide home health in urban, rural, and suburban areas.

The letter also highlights direct impacts of home health cuts on patient care. Between 2019-2023, there was: 

• An estimated 24.6% decline in Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) and Medicare Advantage (MA) home health admissions across New York State 
• A 13% decline in the number of active home health agencies in New York State
• A 9% increased average length of a hospital stay for New York State patients referred to home health care
• A 22.4% decline in the rate of Medicare enrollees receiving home health care nationwide 

The letter was signed by a group of 25 U.S. Senators and Representatives in Congress from New York urging CMS to consider how Medicare cuts would further cripple the efficacy of home healthcare delivery systems and disadvantage millions of Americans who prefer home health. 

To read the bipartisan letter led by Rep. Torres on home health cuts, click here.