NHIA: Rep. Dingell Supports Home Infusion During Energy & Commerce Hearing

• By Laurie Watanabe
• Sep 21, 2023

The National Home Infusion Association (NHIA) is reporting that Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) and two fellow Members of Congress advocated for home infusion during a Sept. 19 legislative hearing of the House Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee.

In a Sept. 19 announcement, NHIA said that during the meeting — “Examining Policies to Improve Seniors’ Access to Innovative Drugs, Medical Devices, and Technology” — Dingell mentioned two bills involving home infusion. The association described the Expanding Care in the Home Act and the Preserving Patient Access to Home Infusion Act as “modernizing Medicare reimbursement and increasing access to home infusion services for Medicare beneficiaries.”

Dingell also explained how she had undergone IV antibiotic treatment for weeks and was able to self administer the drugs at home, but was surprised that Medicare did not cover the home infusion method that is covered by most commercial health insurance plans.

NHIA said it “supports” the home infusion improvements as defined in the Expanding Care in the Home Act “and is appreciative of Rep. Dingell’s efforts and awareness around the issue.”

During the meeting, Rep. Larry Buchon (R-Ind.) and Rep. Neal Dunn (R-Fla.) also voiced support for home infusion. NHIA reported that Buchon said, “Medicare’s policy on this has been wrong for decades,” while Dunn commented on how the bills would expand the number of drugs that would be covered under the DMEPOS home infusion benefit.

The announcement added, “While the Expanding Care in the Home Act illustrates a well-defined vision of what a workable home infusion benefit could and should look like, Congress can take immediate steps to permanently fix the existing Part B home infusion benefit by passing the Preserving Patient Access to Home Infusion Act (H.R. 4104).”