A bipartisan group of 32 House members is urging CMS to reconsider its proposed remote patient monitoring restrictions in the 2027 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule.
The Oct. 2 letter to CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz, MD, was led by Reps. David Kustoff, R-Tenn., and Troy Balderson, R-Ohio. Signers include Democrats such as Reps. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin and Yvette Clarke of New York.
The lawmakers object to the proposal’s limits on remote monitoring staffing, which they said would bar practices from partnering for clinical staff. As proposed, Medicare would pay for remote physiologic and therapeutic monitoring only when clinical staff employed by the billing practice furnish the services, not contracted third-party companies.
The letter shared with Becker’s cited HHS data showing nearly 1 million Medicare enrollees used remote monitoring in 2024. It also cited a National Association of Rural Health Clinics survey finding nearly 70% of rural health clinics offering the service rely on outside clinical and technology partners.
The lawmakers noted that the HHS Office of Inspector General review underpinning CMS’ push for more oversight flagged concerning patterns at just 0.68% of practices that routinely bill for remote monitoring. That calls for “sensible and targeted attention to the issue, not sweeping changes,” they wrote.
Citing a published study, the letter warned that losing access to a high-quality program could increase hospitalizations 27% and raise total cost of care by more than $1,300 per patient per year.
The lawmakers pointed to the Rural Patient Monitoring Access Act, which recently advanced unanimously from the House Ways and Means Committee. Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., raised similar concerns in a Sept. 23 letter to Dr. Oz.
The House members asked CMS to work with providers, patient advocates and remote monitoring stakeholders on program integrity standards that target bad actors. Most provisions of the proposed rule are set to take effect Jan. 1, 2027.
