Official Summaries

Medicare Home Health Accessibility Act

This bill allows individuals to receive occupational therapy as a home health service under Medicare without the need for other services. Currently, individuals may only receive occupational therapy as a home health service if they first qualify for home health services based on other needs (e.g., physical therapy).

Current Full Text

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2013 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2013

    To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for 
  eligibility for coverage of home health services under the Medicare 
        program on the basis of a need for occupational therapy.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 10, 2025

 Mr. Smucker (for himself, Mr. Joyce of Pennsylvania, Mr. Doggett, Mr. 
Tonko, Mrs. Miller of West Virginia, Mr. Fitzpatrick, and Mr. Davis of 
 North Carolina) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
 the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on 
Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for 
  eligibility for coverage of home health services under the Medicare 
        program on the basis of a need for occupational therapy.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Medicare Home Health Accessibility 
Act''.

SEC. 2. ELIGIBILITY FOR HOME HEALTH SERVICES ON THE BASIS OF A NEED FOR 
              OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY.

    (a) Part A.--Section 1814(a)(2)(C) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1395f(a)(2)(C)) is amended by striking ``or speech therapy'' and 
all that follows through ``need occupational therapy'' and inserting 
``, occupational, or speech therapy''.
    (b) Part B.--Section 1835(a)(2)(A) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1395n(a)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ``or speech therapy'' and 
all that follows through ``need occupational therapy'' and inserting 
``, occupational, or speech therapy''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsections (a) and (b) 
shall apply to home health services provided on or after January 1, 
2026.
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