For the first time ever, the recently released Medicare Physician Fee Schedule proposed rule includes billing codes for services provided by Community Health Workers (CHWs). Under this policy, Medicare beneficiaries may be eligible for services provided by CHWs beginning in 2024.
We commend CMS for taking this important step to create a more community-based, person-centered Medicare program, but our work is not done. Comments on the proposed rule are due today! Our combined voice is powerful, and we welcome you to use IMPaCT Care’s draft comments as you develop your response.
This is a transformational moment in the history of community health and health equity, and it is due in large part to the hard work of this community – CHWs, community-based organizations, health systems, and many more advocating for sustainable CHW funding. Time and again, CHWs have proven how they improve outcomes, reduce costs, and address the urgent crises in American health care today.
We urge you to submit comments to CMS, which are a critical way to provide input that will inform the final rule expected in November. That rule will finalize critical policies related to the new billing codes, including patient eligibility, payment rates, EMR requirements, and many more.
Medicare coverage represents an important pathway to financial sustainability for CHW programs, but Medicare policy needs to reflect the experience of individuals and organizations doing the work. CMS needs to hear from you!
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