Home infusion bill gets backing
By HME News Staff
Updated 11:20 AM CDT, Thu August 25, 2022
WASHINGTON – Health systems, hospitals and group purchasing organizations urged Congress to pass the Preserving Patient Access to Home Infusion Act in a recent letter.
The letter to Majority Leader Charles Schumer, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Leader Mitch McConnell, and Leader Kevin McCarthy asks Congress to support making technical corrections that would remove the physical presence requirement, ensuring payment regardless of whether a health care professional is present in the patient’s home.
“Unfortunately, the lack of participation in Medicare’s home infusion benefit stems from the manner in which the benefit has been implemented coupled with lack of clarity in the underlying statute, including the definition of ‘infusion drug administration calendar day,’” the letter states. “Insufficient payment for HIT services has contributed to the lack of providers participating in the benefit, which in turn creates challenges in our ability to transition patients from inpatient care to the home setting. This is especially true for high acuity patients who rely on continuously infused medications, such as those who require inotropic therapies to manage severe heart failure. Patients who cannot access home infusion due to lack of availability are increasingly transitioning to long-term care facilities rather than being discharged to home, where they would prefer to receive their care.”
The letter represents more than 600 health systems and 5,000 sites of care across the country.
Introduced in 2021, the legislation has 17 House co-sponsors and three Senate co-sponsors.
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