HHS Sued Over Alleged Failure to Provide Home Health Benefits (1)

Three people from Michigan, Missouri, and New Jersey, and two organizations filed a lawsuit Thursday in US District Court for the District of Columbia claiming Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra has failed to properly administer the Medicare home health benefit.

The suit, which seeks class-action status, contends Congress required Medicare to cover up to 28 hours per week, and in some circumstances 35 hours per week, of home health services.

But the number of visits by home health aides “has declined by 90% since 1998,” the suit claims. That has left beneficiaries with chronic, disabling conditions, such ...