Reform legislation unanimously approved by the House on Tuesday to make care for Medicare’s most vulnerable beneficiaries more accessible and efficient included provisions led by U.S. Reps. Pat Tiberi (R-OH) and Diane Black (R-TN).
U.S. Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) introduced the Medicare Part B Improvement Act, H.R. 3178, which incorporated Tiberi’s provision to establish a new benefit for home infusion therapies, or medication administered through an IV or catheter. The overall bill also included a measure that Black sponsored to help seniors suffering from late-stage renal disease receive dialysis therapy under Medicare.
Tiberi, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health, said the inclusion of his provision in the package would establish a new reimbursement benefit for home infusion therapies beginning in 2021.
“This new temporary transitional payment will help bridge the potential gap in care for beneficiaries, and home infusion providers will continue to administer these therapies without risk of going bankrupt,” Tiberi said. “This legislation includes other good policies that further encourage giving seniors the choice to receive more care in the comfort of their own homes, as well as expanding access to providers, particularly in rural and needy areas.”
Black said the inclusion of her bill, H.R. 3164, in the larger legislative package would help patients suffering from end-stage renal disease receive the treatments that they need.
“Our seniors deserve access to high quality care, and thanks to recent technological advances we can empower physicians to better deliver it,” Black said. “Allowing physicians to remotely monitor the efficacy of a patient’s treatment at home not only increases the comfort of patients, but can also reduce costly visits to medical facilities.”
The Medicare reform bill includes solutions from roughly a dozen House members, both Republicans and Democrats, Brady, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, said.
“The Medicare Part B Improvement Act takes action on three primary goals,” Brady said. “First, expanding access to high-quality care. Second, improving efficiency in the delivery of care so that patients can better receive the care they need, when they need it. And third, easing administrative burdens on providers so they can spend less time on paperwork and more time with patients.”
Brady noted that the bill would also extend the Medicare Intravenous Immune Globulin (IVIG) demonstration program that enables beneficiaries with weak immune systems to receive in-home care. The legislation also contains a number of solutions that will lower health care costs and increase access to high-quality care for beneficiaries, he added.