HPS Network supports virtual pulmonary rehabilitation bill

Pulmonary rehabilitation is a critical medical service to improve the quality of life for many people living with chronic lung disease. Medicare covers pulmonary rehabilitation delivered in certain settings, typically hospitals and clinics. To improve access to care during the pandemic, CMS created special rules to cover several medical services delivered via telehealth, including pulmonary rehabilitation administered by hospitals via two-way teleconferencing between a patient and a licensed healthcare provider. This proved especially helpful to people with Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome who are mostly legally blind and often are not able to drive. By offering this therapy virtually, it has made it easier for people with HPS to access pulmonary rehabilitation. The Sustainable Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Services in the Home Act would improve patient access to cardiopulmonary rehabilitation services by permanently allowing Medicare patients to receive cardiopulmonary rehabilitation services via virtual telecommunications technology (real-time, audio-video) in the beneficiary’s home (which would serve as the originating site), wherever the home is located throughout the country, including when those services are furnished by hospitals as distant site providers. Additionally, virtual direct supervision by physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, or clinical nurse specialists would be allowed through two-way audio-visual communications technology.Although this bill only applies to Medicare, often other insurance companies follow Medicare’s lead.  Ask your Congressional representatives in the House to co-sponsor H.R. 783. They may contact, Tyler Mortier with Representative John Joyce or Dillon Cooke with Representative Scott Peters. Please also ask your senators to co-sponsor S. 248. They may contact Jacob Danegger with Senator Marsha Blackburn or Ruth McDonald with Senator Amy Klobuchar.