On Thursday, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced the law to extend the home exemption, a source of serious uncertainty for the home health industry.
The Hospital Inpatient Services Modernization Act allows hospitals to successfully complete their home hospital program for another five years if they pass. We also tailor studies that focus on efficacy, quality and patient satisfaction related to home care.
“Innovative care models, such as providing acute care through home hospitals, provide patients with low cost and high quality care,” Rep. Lloyd Smucker, one of the lawmakers who introduced the bill, said in a statement. “Expanding this common sense policy is a clear victory for both patients and taxpayers. … Congress must come together again to expand these provisions, giving more patients the flexibility to receive acute care and recover comfortably from home.”
The Acute Hospital Care at Home (AHCAH) program launched in 2020 allowed hospitals to qualify for Medicare exemptions to treat patients at home via telehealth. The exemption has been extended multiple times, but is currently set to expire in September.
The uncertainty about the fate of hospitals in the Home Exemption Program has sparked a moment of “viewed as a wait” for the home healthcare industry. The continued short-term extension led hospitals without existing hospital programs, postponing the investment needed to launch such initiatives.
The new bill could ease those concerns and encourage the creation of more hospital programs, according to Dr. Bruce Leff, a medical professor at the Center for Transformational Geriatric Research at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
“CMS' response to the AHCAH program has been strong if Medicare doesn't have a permanent payment model, but many hospitals and health systems are sitting on the sidelines,” Leff told Home Health Care News via email. “By extending the hospital's home program by five years, these hospitals and health systems will provide the necessary assurances to invest in hospital development from home to help patients, family caregivers and provide care.”
Smucker, Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) and Rep. Dwight Evans (D-Pa.) introduced the bill to Congress. Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) and Rev. Rafael Warnock (D-Ga.) introduced fellow laws in the Senate.
In addition to extending the exemption, the bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to conduct a “comprehensive” study comparing home care and inpatient care across several criteria, including quality of care, infection rates, hospital readmissions, and patient and caregiver satisfaction.
“Based on the results of this assessment, CMS will be directed to issue formal health and safety regulations to administer the moving forward program,” read a statement on the Smucker and Buchanan website.
Mass General Brigham is “fully supporting” a new bill that extends hospital exemptions for another five years, according to Heather O'Sullivan, president and chief operating officer of home mass general Brigham Healthcare.
“This bill demonstrates the continuous delivery of advanced care in a residential environment and strong bipartisan support for the growing awareness that this transformative care model will increase patient satisfaction and clinical outcomes,” O'Sullivan told HHCN in an email. “The future of healthcare is at home and we support a multi-year extension of the exemption to ensure patients receive safe and effective care at the right time.”
The Home-Based Care Advocacy Union Mobile Health Home supported the introduction of the bill, citing patients being more comfortable at home and home programs would save money.
“Now is the time to give us long-term access to this life-saving care model,” said Krista Drobac, founder of Health Home, in a statement. “Thanks to Buchanan, Smucker, Evans, and to the staff of Officer Scott and Warnock.”
