AHA comments on draft legislation to extend hospital-at-home program

Commenting last week on a discussion draft of the Hospital Inpatient Services Modernization Act, which would extend the hospital-at-home program through 2027, AHA thanked the sponsors for their ongoing work to extend this innovative program and voiced support for its continuance.

“As you consider action beyond temporary extensions of the waiver, we would welcome the opportunity to work with you to establish and implement a permanent version of the program that enables qualified patients to receive safe and effective hospital-level care in the comfort and safety of their home,” AHA told Reps. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, and Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., who released the draft legislation last month.

While the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has granted waivers for at least 320 hospitals in 37 states to provide H@H services to patients, AHA said several other health systems and hospitals are interested in standing up H@H programs but are hesitant to do so without congressional action indicating the program will last beyond this year. A longer extension of the H@H program would provide much needed stability for existing programs to continue providing care to their patients, AHA said.