The Health Subcommittee of the House Ways & Means Committee held a hearing on March 11, 2025 entitled “After the Hospital: Ensuring Access to Quality Post-Acute Care.” (The link includes both the hearing and the witnesses’ written testimony.) Representatives and witnesses representing post-acute providers (home health, inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, long-term care hospitals, nursing homes, and hospice) criticized Medicare Advantage (MA) for prior authorization requirements and denial and delay practices. Provider witnesses described their low Medicare margins, although another witness called by the Majority described profit margins for post-acute providers of 18-39%. Ranking Member Lloyd Doggett (D, TX) also noted that MA had spent $330 million lobbying Congress between 2020 and 2024.
Democratic Members repeatedly turned to the impact of Medicare cuts on nursing home residents, many reciting the statistic that 63% of nursing home residents rely on Medicaid. They reiterated that $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid would be devastating to residents and workers. Eric Carlson, Director of Long-Term Services and Supports Advocacy at Justice in Aging, testified about the importance of Medicaid for nursing home residents and urged that the staffing rule be retained.
March 13, 2025 – T. Edelman