by Kristin Rowan | Apr 17, 2026 | Home Health, Medicaid, Regulatory, Waste Fraud and Abuse
New Efforts to Stop Fraud Before it Happens
As auditors continue to investigate fraudulent activity, new initiatives through Medicare reform aim to stop fraud before it happens. The new initiative, the Combating Deceptive Practices in Assistance Programs Act adds oversight to the Medicaid program.
Preserve Medicaid through Reform
Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee and Chairman of the House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee, Rep. David Schweikert, announced the legislation that would tighten eligibility requirements for home health services through Medicaid. The bill requires Medicaid recipients to prove they are unable to perform three or more ADL’s without assistance.
If we seriously want to preserve Medicaid, and provide for the people most in need, we must crack down on fraud. Reaching people that need these services the most should be the top priority of these programs, not growing one of the largest jobs corps in the state. With the U.S. adding almost $87,000 per second to our national debt, making commonsense reforms can save tens of billions of dollars while protecting the truly vulnerable.”
Chairman, Joint Economic Committee and House Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee
According to the statement from the Joint Economic Committee, the federal waiver programs that allow states to provide at home care for Medicaid beneficiaries are lacking guardrails and oversight. The state policies are “egregious” and lead to waste, fraud, and abuse.
For example, the New York State Medicaid program includes the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP) which allows beneficiaries to choose their caregiver. This broad eligibility program allows enrollees to choose friends or family members with no caregiving experience. New York’s Medicaid spending jumped from $2.5 billion in 2019 to more than $9 billion in 2023 with estimates of $12 billion in 2025.
Kristin Rowan is the owner and Editor-in-chief of The Rowan Report, the industry’s most trusted source for care at home news. She is also a sought-after speaker on Artificial Intelligence, Technology Adoption and Lone Worker Safety. She is available to speak at state and national conferences as well as software user-group meetings.
Kristin also runs Girard Marketing Group, a multi-faceted boutique marketing firm specializing in content creation, social media management, and event marketing. She works with care at home software providers to create dynamic content that increases conversions for direct e-mail, social media, and websites. Connect with Kristin directly at kristin@girardmarketinggroup.com or www.girardmarketinggroup.com
©2026 by The Rowan Report, Peoria, AZ. All rights reserved. This article originally appeared in The Rowan Report. One copy may be printed for personal use: further reproduction by permission only. editor@therowanreport.com
by Rowan Report | May 10, 2024 | Partner News, Telehealth
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ATA ACTION APPLAUDS HOUSE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE FOR UNANIMOUSLY ADVANCING A TWO-YEAR EXTENSION OF MANY CRITICAL TELEHEALTH FLEXIBILITIES
WASHINGTON, DC, MAY 8, 2024 – ATA Action, an affiliated trade organization of the American Telemedicine Association (ATA), applauds the House Ways and Means Committee for their proactive approach in unanimously advancing a two-year telehealth extension. This extension will maintain many of the current Medicare telehealth flexibilities through the end of calendar year 2026, demonstrating the Committee’s commitment to telehealth.
“While we prefer Medicare telehealth flexibilities be made permanent, we understand the dynamics and applaud the Committee for a two-year extension of many of the critical flexibilities without arbitrary and unnecessary guardrails such as in-person requirements,” said Kyle Zebley, Senior Vice President, Public Policy, the ATA and Executive Director, ATA Action. “This is a clear sign that our bipartisan telehealth supporters are at work, determined not to leave the American people without access to safe, effective, quality healthcare where and when they need it. But this is not over yet. There will be additional markups and other committees need to weigh in, as we continue to push for telehealth permanency.”
Specifically, ATA Action is supportive of the bill extending the following telehealth provisions:
- Geographic and originating-site waivers
- Ability for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) to continue to furnish telehealth services
- Expanded list of eligible Medicare providers, allowing Physical Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Speech Language Pathologies, and Audiologists to render telehealth services
- Ability to offer audio-only services
- Repeal of telemental health in-person requirement
- Preservation of the Acute Hospital Care at Home Program through CY2029
“We hope this action by the Ways and Means Committee will push Congress to enact this legislation soon to provide certainty for patients and providers across the country and allow U.S. healthcare systems enough time to implement appropriate virtual tools, technologies, programs, and processes moving forward,” Zebley added. “We support additional telehealth priorities that have not yet been acted upon, including the remote prescribing of controlled substances, which were not included in the legislative proposal. We believe, if left omitted, this would lead to a tremendous gap in care.”
“ATA Action is available as a resource and looks forward to continuing to work with Congress to ensure that the appropriate telehealth policies are implemented in a timely manner without arbitrary and unnecessary barriers to care such as in-person, brick and mortar, or geographic requirements,” Zebley said.
About ATA Action
ATA Action recognizes that telehealth and virtual care have the potential to transform the healthcare delivery system by improving patient outcomes, enhancing the safety and effectiveness of care, addressing health disparities, and reducing costs. ATA Action is a registered 501c6 entity and an affiliated trade organization of the American Telemedicine Association (ATA).
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CONTACT:
Gina Cella
gcella@americantelemed.org
t: 781-799-3137
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