AARP Fights for Better Health Care at Home 

A growing number of Americans are opting to age in their homes, as opposed to institutional settings like nursing homes. So, it seems logical that the number of home health visits in America would also be increasing.

But utilization of Medicare’s home health services have generally trended downward over the past five years, according to agency data. In 2023, almost 90 percent of Medicare beneficiaries who qualified for the home health benefit didn’t receive any visits from home health aides.

AARP is urging the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to strengthen its home health program. On August 26, we submitted feedback to CMS on its proposed Fiscal Year 2025 Home Health Prospective Payment System Rate Update. This proposed rule is a draft of the program’s 2025 rule book, outlining how much funding home health agencies will get from Medicare and what those agencies must do to be eligible for the funding.

In our 14-page letter, AARP calls on CMS to improve access to existing services, expand services offered and increase outreach and education to boost the number of beneficiaries who tap into this home health care option.

“Medicare beneficiaries often face significant, unnecessary barriers to accessing and navigating the home health care services they need,” wrote David Certner, AARP’s legislative counsel and legislative policy director for government affairs. “Addressing these concerns is particularly important as the aging population grows and will need increasing levels of care.” 

Here are a few of AARP’s asks: 

Integrate and support family caregivers

In 2021, roughly 38 million family caregivers in the U.S. provided a combined 36 billion hours of care to an adult loved one in need, according to AARP research. That’s an estimated $600 billion in unpaid labor annually. Their role in the home health care of Medicare beneficiaries is “vital,” AARP wrote in its letter.

AARP supports CMS’ steps to better integrate and support family caregivers in the home health program. For example, we stand behind a proposal to add a measure to a home health agency’s performance review that scores their ability to meet family caregiver needs. We are also backing an expert panel’s recommendation to include family caregivers’ voices in quality reports on home health providers.

“AARP believes a critical component of any policy effort is to ensure that the home health care benefit appropriately incorporates and supports family caregivers voluntarily taking on their role,” Certner wrote.