Title: Improving Care in Home Health Agencies Act
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Improving Care in Home Health Agencies Act
This bill allows the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to waive certain requirements during the public health emergency relating to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) with respect to Medicare coverage of home health services. Specifically, the bill allows the CMS to waive requirements relating to written (1) treatment plans that are signed and dated, (2) orders for care, (3) certification of eligibility, and (4) documentation of face-to-face encounters.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7006 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7006

 To amend title XI of the Social Security Act to waive the application 
 of certain conditions of payment and conditions of participation for 
home health services furnished in an emergency area during an emergency 
                    period, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 22, 2020

Ms. Velazquez (for herself, Ms. Sewell of Alabama, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mr. 
    Nadler, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr. Serrano, Mr. McGovern, Mr. 
   Espaillat, and Ms. Meng) introduced the following bill; which was 
  referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the 
   Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title XI of the Social Security Act to waive the application 
 of certain conditions of payment and conditions of participation for 
home health services furnished in an emergency area during an emergency 
                    period, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Improving Care in Home Health 
Agencies Act''.

SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF THE APPLICATION OF CERTAIN CONDITIONS OF 
              PAYMENT AND CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION FOR HOME HEALTH 
              SERVICES FURNISHED IN AN EMERGENCY AREA DURING AN 
              EMERGENCY PERIOD.

    Section 1135(b) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b-5) is 
amended--
            (1) in paragraph (7), by striking at the end ``and'';
            (2) in paragraph (8), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by inserting the following new paragraph:
            ``(9) in the case of a home health service (as defined in 
        section 1861(m)) and the home health agency documents the 
        receipt of verbal orders issued by the physician, nurse 
        practitioner, physician assistant, or clinical nurse 
        specialist, as appropriate, with respect to such home health 
        service, conditions of payment or conditions of participation 
        that would otherwise require written--
                    ``(A) signed and dated plan of treatment;
                    ``(B) orders for care;
                    ``(C) certification of benefit eligibility; or
                    ``(D) documentation of a face-to-face encounter.''.
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