Premier Calls for Policies to Ensure Access to High-Quality Post-Acute Care
Premier submitted comments for the record in response to the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee’s hearing titled “After the Hospital: Ensuring Access to Quality Post-Acute Care.” In its statement, Premier highlighted that post-acute care providers, including skilled nursing facilities (SNFs), home health, home-infusion services, long-term care pharmacies and other Continuum of Care providers, play a critical role in delivering patient-centered, accessible care. Underscoring that these providers face a host of growing challenges – including declining reimbursement rates, burdensome regulations and inconsistent policies across care settings – Premier recommended opportunities for Congress to address these challenges and improve patient care by:
Expanding patient access to home infusion services through the passage of the bipartisan, bicameral Preserving Patient Access to Home Infusion Act (S. 1058/H.R. 2172);
Addressing payment denials and delays by reforming the prior authorization process;
Enacting a comprehensive legislative package to close the digital divide and incentivize the adoption of interoperable information technology in long-term and post-acute care settings; and
Addressing the root cause of workforce challenges in the post-acute care setting, rather than continuing to mandate a flawed long-term care staffing standard.
