The House Ways and Means Committee approved measures on Thursday that were led by U.S. Reps. Diane Black (R-TN), Patrick Meehan (R-PA) and Pat Tiberi (R-OH) to enhance Medicare coverage for vulnerable beneficiaries.
The measures would make Medicare Advantage plans more responsive to the needs of seniors with chronic conditions, would expand access to telehealth services and would reauthorize the Medicare Special Needs Plans (SNP) program.
Black and Meehan introduced one of the measures, H.R. 3164, as a standalone bill to allow end-stage renal disease care providers to use telehealth for in-home dialysis monitoring. The bill was included in the Medicare Part B Improvement Act of 2017 legislative package on Thursday.
“The technological advancements in this field over the last decade have been tremendous and our seniors deserve access to this innovative care. Monitoring dialysis treatment through telehealth gives health care providers assurance that their patients are receiving the best possible treatment in the comfort of their own homes,” Black said. “As a nurse, I am proud to sponsor bipartisan legislation improving the quality of life for patients under Medicare across the country.”
Medicare beneficiaries, Meehan added, would receive more intensive case management through expanded use of telehealth services under the bill.
“Remote monitoring will ensure that patients receive timely and appropriate care for end-stage renal disease and related illnesses,” Meehan said. “This is critical to keeping more patients safely in their homes and out of the hospital.”
Also included in the Medicare Part B Improvement Act was a bill from Tiberi, the chairman of the Ways and Means’ Subcommittee on Health, that would create a new transitional payment structure for providers of home infusion services.
Additionally, Tiberi’s Special Needs Plans Reauthorization Act, H.R. 3168, passed the Ways and Means Committee with bipartisan support. That bill, Tiberi noted, would provide the longest reauthorization of the SNP program since 2003 and would improve care for seniors and poor patients living with chronic illnesses.
Tiberi noted that the number of enrollees in SNP had grown to 2.3 million by 2016, and that the majority of them were eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid.
“At our hearing in June, the Health Subcommittee examined some of the challenges associated with care coordination and delivery for this population,” Tiberi said. “Witnesses testified that, while this varies state to state, the SNP program lacks the necessary coordination of Medicare and Medicaid benefits to best serve the dual population — and we listened.”
In addition to putting the SNP program on a “better, more permanent” path toward integrated care for dual-eligible beneficiaries, Tiberi said, H.R. 3168 would also strive to improve outcomes for beneficiaries with chronic illnesses.
“As the Medicare population continues to grow, it is important that we look at how we can move from volume to value-based care across all parts of the Medicare program,” Tiberi added.
One provision led by Meehan, which would waive uniformity requirements for Medicare Advantage plans in an effort to make them more responsive to the needs of seniors with chronic illnesses, was included in the broader bill introduced by Tiberi to reauthorize the SNP program.
“This is an important step forward for a measure that will make obtaining needed care easier for so many seniors suffering from conditions like arthritis, heart disease or diabetes,” Meehan said. “It will help seniors avoid unnecessary doctor’s visits, access the doctors they need and have an insurance plan that better fits their needs.”