Bipartisan bill could encourage home-health services under Medicare

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is pushing legislation this week designed to help seniors receive their healthcare services at home.

Sponsored by Reps. Allyson Schwartz (D-Pa.) and Greg Walden (R-Ore.), the proposal would empower physician assistants, nurse practitioners and certified midwives to order home-care services for Medicare patients in lieu of sending them to nursing homes.

Proponents of home care say it grants more freedom and leads to better care for some of the nation's frailest people, while also cutting healthcare costs by reducing the need for extended stays in nursing homes. 

“We have a responsibility to provide America’s seniors with high quality health care, and a key part of that is ensuring they have timely access to home health care services,” Schwartz said in a statement. 

“These valued health care professionals play a central role in the delivery of primary care, particularly in medically underserved areas, and are essential to the coordination of team-based care.”

Under current law, physician assistants and nurse practitioners can prescribe nursing home care for Medicare seniors, but they can't order home care, which requires a physician's stamp of approval.

Walden said that's an unfair stipulation, especially in rural parts of the country where physicians are often few and far between. In those spots, nurse practitioners, physicians assistants, clinical nurse specialists and midwives are "essential components" of healthcare delivery to seniors, he said.

"Not only are they serving on the front lines of primary care, but also in many areas they are the only option readily available," Walden said.

Schwartz has introduced similar legislation in the last two Congresses. The most recent version, introduced Tuesday, has been endorsed by 28 members, including Schwartz and Walden.