September 18, 2024 – The House Committee on Energy and Commerce forwarded H.R. 7623, Telehealth Modernization Act of 2024 to the House by a unanimous roll call vote of 41-0. The bill was one of 16 bills that the Committee marked up on Sept. 18 and included a five-year extension of the Acute Hospital Care at Home (AHCAH) waiver flexibilities. The ACH Coalition strongly supported the inclusion of the waiver extension and expressed thanks to the Committee for its focus on the continuation of hospital at home programs across the nation.
The legislation would extend the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) AHCAH waiver through 2029, exhibiting an ongoing commitment to increasing access to care in the home. Since Congress originally extended the waiver program by statute in December 2022, CMS has approved an additional 83 AHCAH waivers for hospitals. According to CMS, 342 hospitals across 137 systems in 39 states are currently approved for the AHCAH waiver program.
The five-year waiver extension included in the Telehealth Modernization Act will provide the stability and predictability necessary for providers and plans to scale nascent programs to sustainable levels, while also allowing for increased provider and patient participation, enhanced data collection, continued spreading of best practices, and improved access to underserved populations.
