320 NHIA Supporters Attend Hill Rally

On a Capitol Hill lobby day March 5, some 320 Medicare patients
and other supporters of the National Home Infusion Association
urged Congress to act on the
Medicare Home Infusion Therapy Coverage Act. Reintroduced
earlier this year in the Senate (S. 254) and the House (H.R. 574),
the bill would close a gap in coverage where the medicines used in
infusions to treat serious diseases are covered, but not the
medical services, supplies and equipment needed to deliver the home
therapy (see
Some New Bills a Boon to Business, Others Not So Much,
HomeCare Monday, Jan. 26).

At a Washington forum, patients shared personal stories of the
health and financial challenges they have experienced due to the
lack of Medicare coverage, and advocated for enactment of the new
legislation to eliminate unnecessary hospital stays when physicians
and patients agree that treatment at home is preferable. “Medicare
coverage of home infusion therapy is a prime example of immediate
action we can take to deliver high-quality patient care at a lesser
cost,” said Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., at the
forum. “I witnessed firsthand the world of difference treatment at
home makes to patients and their caregivers when my son needed to
be treated with intravenous medicines a few years ago. I believe he
was able to heal faster because he underwent treatment at home.
Everyone should be afforded this opportunity.”