House Bill Would Allow Non-Doctors to OK Home Health

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 12, 2019)—A bipartisan bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives this week would allow some nurses and other health care practitioners who aren't physicians to approve patients for home health care services. The re-introduction of H.R. 2150, the Home Health Care Planning Improvement Act of 2019, attempts once again to authorize nurse practitioners, certified nurse-midwives, clinical nurse specialists, and physician assistants to approve Medicare beneficiaries' need for in-home care. A similar bill has been introduced in prior years. “Nurse practitioners, certified-nurse midwives, clinical nurse specialists, and physician assistants offer invaluable, personal, professional care to so many people around the country,” said Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) in a news release. Schakowsky cosponsored the bill along with Reps. Buddy Carter (R-GA), Ron Kind (D-WI), and Mike Kelly (R-PA) and original cosponsors Rep. Susan Wild (D-PA) and Rep. David Joyce (R-OH). The Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare applauded the bill; other groups have also endorsed it in either its current or past iterations, including the National Association for Home Care & Hospice.