(Alexandria, VA)— The National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance) today commends the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for narrowing the nationwide enrollment moratoria imposed on home health agencies and hospices. This allows currently enrolled providers to once again add hospice practice locations and home health branches to meet patient needs.
The Alliance fully supports efforts to identify and remove fraudulent entities from the Medicare program. By distinguishing between new entrants and established providers with a track record in Medicare, today’s modification reflects the Alliance’s previous recommendations that CMS utilize targeted, data-driven program integrity measures, rather than broad enrollment freezes. The original moratoria prevented long-standing and legitimate hospices and home health agencies from opening new entities and expanding services to patients. The Alliance is grateful this decision allows long-standing hospices and home health agencies to expand and better serve unmet patient needs.
In a recent letter to CMS, the Alliance reiterated that data consistently identify fraud hotspots concentrated in specific metropolitan areas and states. National data do not demonstrate that fraud, waste, or abuse in home health or hospice is so pervasive and geographically uniform as to warrant an extension of the enrollment moratoria across all fifty states and territories. The letter also noted that in the months the national moratoria were in effect, there were unintended consequences impacting legitimate providers and beneficiary access. For these reasons, we appreciate today’s decision by CMS.
“Home health and hospice services are not optional, they are medically necessary benefits that often allow elderly, recovering, and disabled Americans to avoid institutionalization, receive post-acute care safely at home, and access compassionate end-of-life care in the setting of their choice,” said Jennifer Sheets, CEO of the Alliance. “The Alliance has always advocated for targeted approaches to prevent and address fraudulent activities without limiting patient access to care. We appreciate that CMS heard our input and took a meaningful step today by allowing established providers to expand. We urge CMS to use the next six months to transition to targeted, data-driven enforcement and will continue to work with regulators and policymakers to sharpen existing tools to extract fraudulent operators from the system.”
The Alliance looks forward to continuing to collaborate with CMS and policymakers to advance targeted approaches that address fraudulent activities, while ensuring patient access to high-quality care in a preferred setting: at home.
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About the National Alliance for Care at Home
The National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance) is the leading authority in advancing care in the home. We envision an America where everyone has access to the highest quality, person-centered healthcare wherever they call home. Through advocacy, education, and convening, we connect providers and stakeholders to strengthen care delivery across the home-based care continuum — spanning home care, home health, hospice, palliative care, and Medicaid home and community-based services. Learn more at www.AllianceForCareAtHome.org.
Press Contact
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