A bipartisan group of Representatives is driving a bill to empower physician assistants, nurse practitioners and certified midwives to order home health care services for Medicare recipients.
The bill, sponsored by Reps. Allyson Schwartz (D-Pa.) and Greg Walden (R-Ore.) and 26 others, is designed to allow more care providers to offer home services rather than send seniors and disabled patients to nursing homes.
The Reps. urged the need for timely access to home services that are less costly and more convenient for Medicare recipients with reduced mobility.
"Currently, Medicare recognizes NP’s and PA’s as authorized providers who are able to order nursing home care for Medicare beneficiaries. However, they are not able to order less costly and less intrusive home care services. Even in states that have explicitly expanded their laws to allow other medical providers to order home care, Medicare will still not certify payment for these services until a physician signs the order," according to the release.
"This bill will reduce unnecessary and duplicative burdens on providers and seniors in need of home health services," Walden said. "Particularly in rural areas like central, southern, and eastern Oregon where physicians are scarce."
The bill has the support of a collection of advocacy groups, including the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), the American Nurses Association and the National Association for Home Care and Hospice among others.