The CMS hospital-at-home waiver and Medicare telehealth flexibilities would continue under a $1.2 trillion spending package released Jan. 20 by the House Appropriations Committee.
The three-bill minibus proposal would extend acute hospital care at home through Sept. 30, 2030, and Medicare telehealth policies through Dec. 31, 2027.
Both programs are otherwise set to expire Jan. 30, as they did for 43 days amid last year’s government shutdown. At that time, many health systems had to pause or shut down their hospital-at-home offerings and switch Medicare telehealth patients to in-person care.
“This momentum is real and meaningful, and it is a very good sign that telehealth provisions continue to advance with bipartisan support,” stated Alexis Apple, vice president of federal affairs at the American Telemedicine Association, in a Jan. 20 news release. “We are optimistic this legislation can move forward, as it includes a number of strong bipartisan priorities and is not tied to the more partisan homeland security funding debate currently underway.”
Dozens of health systems from around the country have urged Congress to pass the extensions.
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