The 21st Century Cures Act may help medical research gain approval more swiftly, but it will also unintentionally inconvenience elderly patients who will have to travel to the hospital for treatment they would customarily get at home. Infusion therapy, or intravenous medical treatment, treats several medical conditions that cannot be treated with oral medications. Infused medications can be taken at home, which makes it ideal for elderly patients and those with immunodeficiency disorders, but the Cures Act could mean the treatment is lost for the next four years. Payments for infused drugs were standardized under the new legislation, but payments for home infusion services will not be permitted until 2021. In addition, the bill requires a physician to sign off on an experimental drug before it can go into clinical trials. A potential fix for the issue could be if Congress allows Medicare to implement administration benefit fees from 1 January 2018, saving Medicare millions of dollars.
The 21st Century Cures Act may help medical research gain approval more swiftly, but it will also unintentionally inconvenience elderly patients who will have to travel to the hospital for treatment they would customarily get at home. Infusion therapy, or intravenous medical treatment, treats several medical conditions that cannot be treated with oral medications. Infused medications can be taken at home, which makes it ideal for elderly patients and those with immunodeficiency disorders, but the Cures Act could mean the treatment is lost for the next four years. Payments for infused drugs were standardized under the new legislation, but payments for home infusion services will not be permitted until 2021. The delay could cost taxpayers millions of dollars as hospital-delivered infusion therapy costs up to 10 times more than at home. A potential fix for the issue could be if Congress allows Medicare to implement administration benefit fees from 1 January 2018, saving Medicare millions of dollars.