Home Health & Hospice Week

There may not be any direct Medicare cuts to home health and hospice services in the Trump administration’s newly released budget plan for 2018, but that doesn’t mean the industries will get by unscathed if the White House’s budget ideas get taken up by Congress.

President Trump calls for a $610 billion cut to Medicaid. Details are fuzzy, but the savings would apparently come from block grants. An Affordable Care Act repeal would bring another $250 billion in Medicaid cuts, the National Association for Home Care & Hospice says in its member newsletter.

“We are very concerned that the decades long battle to provide Medicaid beneficiaries with improved access to home care rather than institutional care will risk a serious setback through these changes,” NAHC says. “States can still fund home and community based care, but it will be more difficult with reduced federal supports.”

There is some good news in the budget proposal, NAHC allows — an Independent Payment Advisory Board repeal. “Some in Washington are forecasting that the actuary will issue a report that will trigger IPAB,” the trade group says. “As such, it is crucial that IPAB be repealed as soon as possible.”

But for the most part, it’s not worth panicking at this point. “While the President’s budget is an important part of the process, it is important to note that it is only the first step,” the National Hospice & Palliative Care Organization notes on its website. “Congress will either adopt these recommendations or reject them as it moves through the annual budgeting and appropriations cycle.”