WASHINGTON — Wednesday, Congressman Vern Buchanan, Vice Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and Chair of the Health Subcommittee, saw his Hospital Inpatient Services Modernization Act (H.R. 4313), bipartisan, bicameral legislation to extend successful “Hospital at Home” programs, unanimously pass out of the House Ways and Means Committee. During the committee’s markup, Buchanan touted the importance of his legislation to ensure more than 200 hospitals in 34 states, including 23 in Florida, can continue to expand access to this vital care model.
Here is what they are saying about Buchanan’s work to strengthen health care access:
Newsweek: How Health Systems Are Turning Living Rooms Into Hospital Rooms
“Health systems and House representatives—from both parties—have been working to keep hospital at home programs alive. The Hospital Inpatient Services Modernization Act, which would extend the AHCAH program through 2030, was introduced in the House in July. Backed by professional organizations like the American Hospital Association and the Association of American Medical Colleges, the legislation also calls for a formal evaluation to compare home-based to traditional hospital care, and help CMS set standards.”
Healthcare IT News: 140 organizations urge Congress to extend the hospital-at-home program
“The collective support of bipartisan lawmakers for the proposed five-year AHCAH extension would give health systems the ‘stability and confidence’ needed to ‘invest in and scale’ their hospital-at-home programs, the organizations explained in the letter.”
Healthcare Finance: Health systems advocate for 5-year hospital-at-home extension
“More than 140 healthcare organizations, including more than 50 health systems, have sent a letter to Congress urging inclusion of a five-year extension of the Acute Hospital Care at Home (AHCaH) waiver program in the upcoming September government funding package.”
“The letter emphasizes that the Hospital Inpatient Services Modernization Act, a bipartisan, bicameral bill, would provide the long-term certainty necessary to fully realize the benefits of hospital-at-home programs.”
Medical Buyer: AHA supports Hospital Inpatient Services Modernization Act
“The AHA submitted a statement Sept. 17 for a House Ways and Means Committee markup session on a series of health care and other bills. Specifically, the AHA expressed support for the Hospital Inpatient Services Modernization Act (H.R. 4313), legislation that would extend certain Medicare waivers authorizing the hospital-at-home care program.”
Buchanan’s Hospital Inpatient Services Modernization Act would extend the current “Hospital at Home” waiver program—first established by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in November 2020 to provide hospitals with increased flexibility to care for certain patients from the comfort of their homes—through 2030, allowing hospitals to continue participating and providing quality care to patients.
A recent report from CMS shows that allowing patients to be treated in a more familiar environment and routine accelerates recovery time, lowers the mortality rate and reduces the risk of hospital-acquired infections and falls.
In addition to being the Vice Chairman and most senior Republican on the powerful U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, Buchanan is also the Chairman of the Health Subcommittee, which has broad jurisdiction over traditional Medicare, the Medicare prescription drug benefit program and Medicare Advantage.
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