Now Available: Medicare Red Tape Relief Report

Posted on August 22, 2018 by Jodi Boyne

After a year of collecting stakeholder input, the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means has issued the Medicare Red Tape Relief report.  

The report lists areas in which the committee found that legislative and/or regulatory changes could eliminate unnecessarily burdensome regulations, reducing costs and improving the efficiency and quality of services for Medicare beneficiaries.

When the committee began its examination of regulatory burdens in the healthcare field in July 2017, LeadingAge submitted 14 separate recommendations for changes in laws and regulations governing nursing homes, home health care and hospice providers and the application of technology in the post-acute care field. We incorporated feedback from many of our members and several of our state associations also submitted their own recommendations.

We are especially pleased that the Ways and Means report discusses the need for greater flexibility to provide telehealth services in post-acute care since this was a major focus of our comments to the committee. 

We and other post-acute care provider organizations also advised the committee on the need for a real solution to the problem of Medicare "observation days" and the nurse aide training lock-out. We will continue working with both Congress and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on these and other regulatory issues facing aging services providers.