The Alliance Commends Introduction of Legislation to Extend Hospice Telehealth Flexibilities

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia & WASHINGTON—The National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance) announced its support of the reintroduction of the Hospice Recertification Flexibility Act in the House of Representatives. This bipartisan legislation, HR 1720, would extend telehealth flexibilities for hospice face-to-face (F2F) recertification. The F2F encounter is performed by a physician or nurse practitioner to evaluate the patient and collect clinical information used in determining continued eligibility for hospice.  

Introduced by Representatives Carol Miller (R-WV) and Jared Golden (D-ME), the bill would extend the F2F recertification flexibility for providers until Dec. 31, 2027. Beginning Jan. 1, 2026, the legislation also includes important guardrails to ensure appropriate use and requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to create a modifier to collect data on when the F2F encounter is conducted via telehealth. The Alliance, then through its legacy organizations, worked with lawmakers to ensure continued care transformation and access to care for high-quality providers.

“Telehealth flexibilities, first granted during the public health emergency, have expanded access to essential care for America’s most vulnerable patient population,” said Miller. “Not only do these critical flexibilities allow patients to take part in visits from wherever they call home, but they also expand the capacity of providers to reach patients in rural communities amid workforce shortages and free up highly skilled providers to focus on critical care interventions.

“As patients enter into hospice care, it’s important they can remain in the comfort of their own home as they receive treatment,” Miller continued. “That’s why I am reintroducing the Hospice Recertification Flexibility Act to allow hospice providers to use telehealth to conduct the face-to-face visits required for hospice recertification. This bill will make it easier for hospice providers by extending access to telehealth as a way for them to continue offering critical care and to monitor the health of their patients.”

“Hospice care exists to provide comfort and compassion during heartbreaking times,” Golden said. “Virtual visits make those services accessible for more people, especially those in rural communities, for whom the nearest hospice facility may be far from home. This is important, bipartisan work on behalf of families with more than enough on their plates, and I’m determined to see these telehealth provisions become law.”

“As a physician who spent a large portion of my early career making home visits, I cannot stress enough the importance of extending the F2F recertification flexibility for expanding access to care and ensuring efficient use of our precious clinical workforce,” said Alliance CEO, Steve Landers. “Further, the Alliance supports the program integrity measures included in this bill to root out bad actors abusing the Medicare Hospice Benefit while still ensuring patient care is not limited.”  

Ask your representative to support the Hospice Recertification Flexibility Act through the Alliance’s action alert.