2024 Home Health Proposed Rule Points to Consider

• The CY 2024 Home Health Proposed Rule, CMS is proposing to apply an additional -5.653% permanent cut to Medicare’s HHA rates, which already reflect a -3.925% reduction put in place for CY 2023. This amounts to a -9.356% cut that would apply in perpetuity. In 2024 alone, the -5.653% cut would remove $870 million from the home health benefit. CMS is also proposing that an additional $3.44 billion in cuts be levied under the “temporary adjustment” authority at some point in the near future.

• Medicare’s home health benefit in Parts A and B totaled approximately $16.1 billion in annual spending in 2022. In aggregate, this constitutes an almost 10% cut over two years. The unpredictable nature of these cuts from year to year is a moving target, making it impossible for businesses to plan as they need to for appropriate budgeting.

• The squeeze on home health is already beginning to affect patient access. In the last few years, 200,000 fewer patients pursued home health, despite 10,000 individuals aging in Medicare daily. Data analytics from CareJourney (using 2022 claims data) shows that while around 20% of patients are discharged with a directive to pursue medically necessary home health care, only 63% actually are able to get it in place within 7 days. These declines in access to care will, over time, have a material effect on not only patient and caregiver quality of life, but on the health outcomes of patients and the finances of the Medicare program. Home health is proven to reduce emergency department rates, lower readmission rates, and lower mortality rates. It is a site of care we should be creating more incentive to bring patients to; not less.

Complete your Action Alert asking Congress to Stop the Cuts. It takes 30 seconds! Here's the link: Stop Home Health Cuts (p2a.co)