The Situation Report | September 23, 2024
Congressman Ritchie Torres (D-NY) has led an effort to send a letter to CMS and the White House opposing home care cuts under the Patient Driven Groupings Model (PDGM). Twenty-six bipartisan members of the New York delegation signed the letter calling on CMS to pause the rule and refine their approach in determining budget neutrality under the rule. HCA and HCA’s CHHA members conducted extensive outreach to delegation members urging their support and co-signature.
The proposed cuts would lead to more than $20 billion in Medicare reductions over the next ten years, and over a billion dollars in cuts next year alone. Additionally, CMS is proposing a claw back of more than $4 billion nationally in Medicare reimbursement that were paid during the Covid epidemic. The proposal would lead to a reduction of over $42 million to New York Home Care providers alone, leaving over 50% of providers with negative margins.
The letter lays out the status of home care in New York and the reduction of availability of services to patients leaving the hospital due to low reimbursement rates and the workforce shortage. It goes on to explain how these cuts would only exacerbate a growing problem in providing services to patients in need of home care.
HCA is grateful for Representative Torres’s leadership and the strong support of the entire New York Delegation in opposing these cuts. HCA members should contact their Congressional member to extend appreciation for their support and to also urge their co-signature of the Preserving Access to Home Health Act (visit here for further background on this Congressional Member outreach).
We will provide further updates as the proposed rule makes it way through the regulatory process.