Home Infusion Therapy
IDSA has
long advocated for coverage of home infusion therapies as a high quality and
cost effective option for patients who require multiple daily antimicrobial
infusions or those living in rural areas. Unfortunately, while most private
payers cover home infusion therapies, fee-for-service Medicare does not.
As a result, Medicare beneficiaries who need antimicrobial infusion
services often must be admitted to an extended care facility where they are
less comfortable and more likely to be exposed to hospital-acquired infections
that increase the likelihood of treatment failure and avoidable readmission.
Not only is this unnecessary, inconvenient and difficult for the patient, but
it also is costly to the Medicare program.
The Medicare Home
Infusion Therapy Coverage Act of 2011 (S. 1203 and H.R. 2195) would provide
beneficiaries enrolled in traditional Medicare with the same access to home
infusion therapies that patients have enjoyed for many years.