Lowering costs and improving access to Medicare

With the expanding role of technology in how we are able to deliver healthcare, access to many health services continues to evolve and improve, particularly for those facing chronic illnesses or needing continued care.

I have been a strong supporter of advancing these forward-looking efforts and recently supported legislation that included several provisions important for seniors and rural communities.

Last month, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a government funding bill that included significant, beneficiary-focused improvements to access to certain programs under Medicare and extended other Medicare policies.

These programs include Medicare, telehealth, home health, and managed care for Pennsylvania’s seniors.

Telehealth services have revolutionized care for both patients and medical care providers, allowing patients to use a tablet or smartphone to virtually see doctors or specialists without leaving their homes. Mobile apps can help patients monitor a chronic condition and send real-time data to doctors for evaluation.

Recognizing the increasingly important role that telehealth will play across the healthcare landscape - including Medicare, my colleagues and I in Congress included several telehealth measures in the government funding bill to support telehealth services under Medicare.

The legislation included provisions from the CHRONIC Care Act, which allows Medicare to cover more telehealth services for treating chronically ill patients.

The CHRONIC Care Act also allows accountable care organizations, such as groups of doctors, hospitals, and other providers who come together to provide coordinated care to Medicare patients, to further use telemedicine. In particular, for stroke patients and patients receiving at-home dialysis.

An additional option for some seniors to receive care from their home is through home health.

This practice allows millions of seniors to receive high-quality, cost-effective treatment in the environment they prefer – their own home.

As I have heard from constituents who utilize this program, I was pleased provisions from legislation I cosponsored, the Independence at Home Demonstration Improvement and Extension Act, were also included in the government funding bill.

The Independence at Home Medical Practice Demonstration Program (IAH) focuses on care coordination for Medicare beneficiaries with chronic illness or disability, ensuring high-quality care and reducing total Medicare costs.

Home health is a critical component of our healthcare system, which is why an additional two-year extension in the government funding bill is a positive step forward for seniors who rely on this care.

Programs serving Medicare beneficiaries in rural communities were also improved under this legislation.

A separate bill I cosponsored to improve the accreditation process for dialysis facilities by rolling back red tape — so that Medicare beneficiaries with chronic kidney disease living in rural communities can more easily access the treatments they need — passed in this bill.

With an improved accreditation process that maintains essential safeguards, more facilities will mean patients using Medicare will have even more options.

In addition, the home health rural add-on, a critical reimbursement provision made for home health services to patients in rural areas, was extended for five years.

As rural home health agencies often face higher overhead expenses due to increased travel time and demands for extra staff, this add-on is vital to their ability to provide care to patients in rural communities.

Each of these services is instrumental in rural communities for patients who would otherwise need to travel long distances to receive care and for seniors who utilize managed care programs.

Ensuring seniors in Pennsylvania can access the care they need has been a priority of my work on healthcare in Congress, and the government funding legislation I voted for has critical provisions to support seniors in accessing their care.