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."