A press release from Congressman Randy Hultgren:
Hultgren Cosponsors Legislation to Streamline Medicare Home Health Services
Randy Hultgren
Washington, DC – U.S. Representative Randy Hultgren (IL-14) has cosponsored H.R. 2504, the Home Health Care Planning Improvement Act of 2013, a bill to allow Nurse Practitioners (NP)—along with clinical nurse specialists (CNS), certified nurse midwives (CNM), andphysician assistants (PA)—certify their patients’ eligibility for Medicare home health services.
Currently, Nurse Practitioners are authorized to complete the required face-to-face assessment of their patient’s needs but then must locate a physician to certify the assessment even though the physician was not present.
H.R. 2504 would streamline this process and allow these providers to determine eligibility and payment for home health services directly.
State laws over medical practices would still apply, safeguarding patient protection.
“Nurse Practitioners and other certified health professionals work daily with seniors and can assess their needs. Streamlining this process gives these professionals, in regular consultation with physicians, more autonomy and improves convenience for the patient. In many cases, tracking down a doctor in underserved areas can be challenging and take days, if not weeks. This bill would speed up the time for seniors to get the care they need,” said Rep. Hultgren. “Further, estimates find that this change could save taxpayers more than $250 million over 10 years. I support this fiscally responsible improvement to these vital services to our seniors.”
H.R. 2504 is supported by the National Association for Home Care and Hospice, the American Nurses Association, the American Academy of Physician Assistants, the American College of Nurse Midwives, and the American College of Nurse Practitioners.
In August, Rep. Hultgren held a Community Leadership Forum on Healthcare, bringing the northern Illinois community together to share information and work together to tackle Illinois’ health care challenges. A forthcoming report will lay out the ideas and recommendations presented to lower costs, improve access and improve health outcomes for Illinois and American health consumers.