Bill Would Extend Hospital-at-Home Waiver Through 2030

A bill was introduced in Congress on July 10 to extend the acute care hospital-at-home waiver for five years. Without the extension, the waiver will expire Sept. 30, 2025. 

The bill was introduced in the House by Reps. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., Lloyd Smucker, R-Pa., and Dwight Evans D-Pa., and in the Senate by Sens. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Rev. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga.

Buchanan’s bill also requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and CMS to conduct a comprehensive study comparing home-based care and inpatient care across several key criteria, including care quality, rates of infection, hospital readmission and levels of satisfaction among patients and their caregivers. Based on the findings of this evaluation, CMS would then be directed to issue formal health and safety regulations to govern the program moving forward.

“Our nation is getting sicker and sicker, but programs like ‘Hospital at Home’ allow us to treat patients more efficiently while delivering high-quality care at a lower cost,” said Buchanan in a statement. “Home health services are especially crucial for the nearly 200,000 seniors in my district. The Hospital Inpatient Services Modernization Act would ensure that more than 200 hospitals across 34 states, including 23 in Florida, can continue participating in this program and provide quality care to those in need. We must ensure this life-changing model remains available for years to come.”

The American Hospital Association supports the bill and stated that “a long-term extension will not only provide additional time to continue gathering data on quality improvement, cost savings, and patient experience, but will also provide much needed stability for new programs and may ease state concerns about updating Medicaid policies to allow for coverage of these services.” 

AHA noted that 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. This legislation would extend the current hospital-at-home waiver program through 2030, allowing hospitals to continue participating and providing quality care to patients.