Democrat Senator Debbie Stabenow, who is the chairwoman of the Senate Subcommittee on Healthcare, and Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins, have co-sponsored a bipartisan bill that would freeze proposed Medicare payment cuts to home health care services. The proposed legislation was applauded both by The Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare (The Partnership) and National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC).
The legislation, “The Preserving Access to Home Health Act of 2022,” would delay a 7.69% permanent cut. Then, it would also delay an added $2 billion of “clawback” cuts to home healthcare services. It could include cuts within the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Home Health Prospective Payment System (HHPPS) for 2023 and 2024, respectively. According to estimates, Medicare’s proposed provider cuts will total $18 billion over the next ten years.
NAHC said the potential cuts—plus a 3% response to inflation in the proposed rule—mean that approximately 44% of home health agencies would take a loss when the rate cut goes into effect.
“This is a very difficult time to reduce payment rates when you’ve got high inflation out there,” NAHC President William A. Dombi said, “especially when home health agencies are facing unprecedented hiring pressures.”
The Preserving Access to Home Health Act of 2022, according to The Partnership and NAHC, will make the following policy changes:
- Prevent CMS from making permanent or temporary changes to home health prospective payment rates before 2026. This would postpone CMS’s proposed cuts for 2023 and beyond, giving CMS more time to clarify the potential method in determining budget neutrality in home health.
- Make sure that any adjustments determined by the CMS necessary to offset increases or decreases in estimated aggregate expenditures are made by 2032 so that no cuts are postponed past the budget window.
- The legislation is designed to be self-executing. It would take effect on the enactment date and include instructions for implementation through program instruction or other means.
“We are honored to have the support of Senator Stabenow and Senator Collins for many years. Their support in this new battle with Medicare will help ensure that home health agencies can continue to deliver high-quality care that is accessible throughout the country. This is a battle for the future of health care at home and we thank the senators for their leadership,” said Dombi. “The legislation will provide essential protection from the devastating rate cut proposed by CMS. We sincerely hope that CMS will support this legislation and recognize the need to work with us to avoid the harm that the current proposal would inflict.”
“Home health providers are facing enormous pressures today, including historically high costs of delivering quality home healthcare, so these severe and unjust cuts could not come at a worse time,” added Joanne Cunningham, CEO of The Partnership. “We look forward to working with lawmakers in Congress to build support for this legislation to ensure Medicare’s proposed cuts are not implemented as proposed.”
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