Tag: Connie Sullivan
Home infusion stakeholders push new legislation to fix coverage gap
June 23, 2023Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON – Home infusion stakeholders believe they have a strong case for Congress passing legislation that would finally bring Medicare coverage in line with that of private insurers.
Introduced June 14 in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, “The Preserving Patient Access to Home Infusion Act” would include pharmacy services as part of the home infusion therapy benefit under Medicare, covering everything from assessments to drug preparation and compounding...
Infusion report: No matter how you spin it, access has gone down
March 10, 2023Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON – A new report from CMS is an “indictment” of the agency’s current home infusion benefit, say stakeholders.
The “HIT Monitoring Report, February 2023” shows utilization has remained basically flat over a 26-month study period, despite growing Medicare enrollment, with only 1,250 beneficiaries, on average, receiving Part B home infusion services per quarter.
“We do feel like this is more evidence that CMS’s flawed policy...
Infusion stakeholders take fight back to Congress
August 20, 2021Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON – Stakeholders are taking another swing at fixing the home infusion benefit, with new legislation introduced and, overall, increased awareness among lawmakers of the value of providing care in the home.
The Preserving Patient Access to Home Infusion Act, introduced Aug. 5 by Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Tim Scott, R-S.C., provides technical clarifications to remove the requirement that a nurse or other health care professional be present in the patient’s home...
Antibody pilot mobilizes home infusion providers
January 8, 2021Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Upstate HomeCare is among the providers that recently began participating in a pilot program to get monoclonal antibody therapy to patients in skilled nursing and long-term care facilities, where COVID-19 is spreading quickly.
The pilot, part of Operation Warp Speed, is a partnership between the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Home Infusion Association. Option Care Health is...
CMS sticks to home infusion plan
July 9, 2020Theresa Flaherty, Managing Editor
WASHINGTON - CMS's proposed home health rule for 2021 does not include any fixes to how it plans to implement its home infusion benefit. In the rule, released on June 25, the agency continues to limit reimbursement to only those days when a nurse is in the home. The National Home Infusion Association continues to assert that the policy introduces unnecessary risk for patients and health care providers when services are provided in the home to patients that rely on lifesaving infused medications....