In a Feb. 3 letter (PDF) to congressional leadership, the AAMC and over 100 health organizations in requesting the inclusion of a five-year extension of the Acute Hospital Care at Home waiver program in the March government funding package. The letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.), and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) thanked Congress for temporarily extending the waiver until March and called for a more permanent solution.
The letter highlighted that the Acute Hospital Care at Home program has been shown to lower costs, reduce hospital lengths of stay, and improve patient and caregiver satisfaction. It also referenced studies from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Health Affairs, and the Annals of Internal Medicine, which have found significant cost savings and positive patient outcomes, further supporting the program’s long-term viability. The letter reiterated that a five-year extension would provide needed certainty for hospitals looking to implement or expand hospital-at-home services.
Without congressional action by March 31, the program will expire.