This week, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the ‘Hospital at Home’ program through 2030. The bill would extend the current federal Medicare waiver that allows hospitals to provide certain acute-level services in a patient’s home rather than in an inpatient setting. In 2020, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) launched the Acute Hospital Care at Home (AHCAH) initiative during the COVID-19 pandemic, enabling health systems to use remote monitoring technology, in-home nursing and rehabilitation visits, telehealth services for virtual doctors' visits and other technologies to provide care to patients recovering at home. The waiver has been extended through a series of short-term legislative measures since its inception. Current authorization for the program extends through January 2026. Currently 10 Massachusetts hospitals have been approved by CMS for participation in the waiver program. Participation in the waiver program is expected to expand once the law is enacted.
The House legislation now moves to the Senate for its consideration.