WASHINGTON – Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today applauded the House Ways and Means Committee for reporting out the Medicare Independence at Home Medical Practice Demonstration Improvement Act of 2015 by a voice vote, which extends the program for two years. The bill was approved by the Senate on April 22 by voice vote.
“With millions of Americans living with serious chronic illnesses, Independence at Home is a clear advancement to improve care and help seniors maintain their quality of life at home,” Wyden said. “I’m pleased our bill received such strong bipartisan support in the Ways and Means Committee, and I hope the House takes up and passes this important legislation quickly so it can be delivered to the president’s desk.”
Wyden has long been a champion of the independence at home (IAH) approach. IAH uses primary care teams providing care in the home to improve health outcomes and reduce expenditures for Medicare beneficiaries living with multiple chronic conditions. Wyden worked to get the original IAH demonstration included in the Affordable Care Act. Earlier this year, he introduced the two-year extension, S. 971, with Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), and Edward Markey (D-Mass.).
The bill extends for two additional years programs already underway in 14 states. Those states are: Oregon, Ohio, Massachusetts, Delaware, New York, North Carolina, Kentucky, Texas, Florida, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington, D.C.
