Advocacy Push: Ask Congress to Support the Home Health Behavioral Assumptions Bill
LeadingAge NY is asking members to reach out to their congressional representatives to urge co-sponsorship and support for the Home Health Payment Innovation Act (H.R. 2573/S. 433). This bill would prevent a destructive 8 percent payment cut to Medicare home health services for the country’s growing elderly population. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 made significant changes to the Medicare home health payment system by allowing the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to reduce Medicare rates to home health providers under the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) based on faulty behavioral assumptions that providers are upcoding their services.
This bill requires the use of evidence, not assumptions, to make payment changes, allowing for a more accurate reimbursement system that better aligns payment with patient care needs. The bill also limits these reductions to no more than 2 percent annually and waives homebound rules for certain Medicare beneficiaries.
PDGM is due to be implemented on Jan. 1st. We are looking for passage prior to this implementation date, within this or a more comprehensive piece of legislation. This bill has bipartisan support, and New York has just seven of its congressional representatives signed on.
We ask LeadingAge NY members to email their members of Congress TODAY to request co-sponsorship and support of the bill. To personalize a letter to your congressional representative on this issue, click here.
Contact: Meg Carr Everett, meverett@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8871