The Medicare Home Infusion Therapy Coverage Act of 2009

Background

When the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) opted to include home infusion therapy under the Part D benefit in a manner that did NOT include coverage for the necessary professional services, supplies, and equipment, the home infusion community warned that this decision would limit, and in many cases, deny access to home infusion therapy for Medicare patients.  The situation is now a reality.  The result is that Medicare beneficiaries are being forced back into hospitals and nursing homes for treatment at greater cost to the program and significant inconvenience to the patients and their families. 

The Solution

S.254 — introduced in the Senate and H.R. 574 - introduced in the House would close the glaring and unintended gap in Medicare drug coverage that is affecting the sickest, most vulnerable patients.  The Bill would cover all aspects of home infusion therapy necessary to provide home infusion in a safe and effective manner.  In doing so, it would enable Medicare beneficiaries to avoid hospitalizations and obtain safe and cost-effective treatment in their homes.  The Medicare program would realize the efficiencies and positive outcomes that home infusion therapy has brought to private sector patients for decades.

Contact Your Representative and Senators

We are calling on everyone who wants to lower Medicare costs and provide needed coverage for Medicare patients to contact their Senators and Representatives in support of these bills. You can easily contact your legislators at http://capwiz.com/nhianet/home/

Real Patient Stories

Thousands of Medicare patients are adversely affected by this lack of coverage of home infusion therapies by Medicare every year. Click here to read just 12 of them and see the burden placed on these patients and their families.

Video

Watch a video of patients affected by Medicare's lack of coverage of home infusion therapies at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrbFAwQH_2c