Powers Principal Peggy Tighe spoke about Independence at Home legislation at the American Academy of Home Care Medicine Annual Meeting in Chicago held earlier this month.
The three-day conference provided attendees with an in-depth focus on home-based primary care. Conference sessions included discussions of preparing the next generation of home health providers, improving patient care, new treatment options, and health policy affecting home care.
Peggy was one of four speakers during two sessions titled, “IAH and Other Health Policy Issues in Home Care Medicine.” She spoke about the Independence at Home two-year extension (H.R. 3263), legislation to expand IAH nationwide (S. 464), and how IAH complements and amplifies the home-based primary care movement.
H.R. 3263 would extend the Independence at Home Medical Practice Demonstration for two additional years and expand it to more beneficiaries. The demonstration provides a home-based primary care benefit to high-need Medicare beneficiaries with multiple chronic conditions, allowing them to avoid unnecessary hospitalizations, ER visits, and nursing home use. S. 464 builds upon the success of the IAH demonstration, making it accessible to beneficiaries in all 50 states.
The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee voted to approve two year legislation to extend and expand the IAH earlier this month, and the bill is likely to receive House floor action in the coming weeks. Once the IAH legislation passes the House floor, IAH supporters will work to ensure that the bill becomes law.
If passed, this would be the second time the IAH program has been extended since its inception five years ago. Powers Senior Counsel Jim Pyles and Peggy Tighe also worked to advance the “Medicare Independence at Home Extension Medical Practice Demonstration Improvement Act of 2015,” which served as the first extension of the program. After passage of the two year extension, efforts will be redirected back to S. 464, the nationwide expansion.
During the conference panel, Peggy was joined by Eric DeJonge, MD, of MedStar Washington Hospital Center: MedStar Total Elder Car; Robert Sowislo, MBA, of US Medical Management, LL; and Andrew MacPherson and Ray Quintero, Principals at Healthsperien, LLC.
For more information on Independence at Home, see www.IAHNOW.org or contact Peggy Tighe at 202-872-6752 or Peggy.Tighe@PowersLaw.com. For more information about the American Academy of Home Care Medicine Annual Meeting, click here.