Medicare expands home-based heart and lung rehab permanently

What it does

This bill makes permanent the COVID-era flexibility allowing cardiopulmonary rehabilitation (heart and lung recovery programs) to be delivered in patients' homes via telehealth video visits, rather than requiring in-person clinic attendance. It expands which types of facilities and providers can offer these remote services and directs the HHS Secretary to establish standards for designating home settings as valid treatment locations under Medicare.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core function is to codify and expand remote delivery of cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation services under Medicare, removing site-of-service and geographic barriers that previously limited home-based care.

What the text implies

• Permanent codification of COVID-era flexibilities may reduce in-person rehabilitation visits, affecting the revenue model of traditional outpatient rehabilitation facilities that depend on facility-based billing.
• Designation of patient homes as 'provider-based locations' creates a new regulatory category that may expand Medicare's definition of billable treatment settings beyond traditional clinical spaces.
• Rulemaking authority granted to HHS Secretary to establish standards for home-based designation gives executive branch discretion to define what qualifies as a valid treatment location, potentially affecting future scope of telehealth coverage.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Patients with cardiac and pulmonary conditions gain permanent access to rehabilitation services in their homes, reducing travel burden and improving access for those with mobility limitations or rural residence. The expansion of telehealth delivery and originating sites increases provider flexibility to serve patients, supporting continuity of care established during COVID.

Who stands to gain

• Medicare beneficiaries (reduced travel costs, improved access)
• Hospitals and rehabilitation providers (expanded service delivery models, potential new revenue stre

Named in the bill

Social Security Act Section 1861(eee), Social Security Act Section 1861(fff), Social Security Act Section 1834(m), HHS Secretary, Medicare, Hospital Without Walls program, cardiac rehabilitation programs, pulmonary rehabilitation programs, intensive cardiac rehabilitation programs

Where it stands

37 cosponsors: 22 Democrats, 15 Republicans.

• Jan 28, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Jan 28, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means and House Committee on Energy and Commerce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a…”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

6 lobbying clients named this bill on 10 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $365,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 9 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 82% of bills with at least one filing.

John Joyce, the sponsor, reported $1,454,937 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• American Lung Association — $190,000 on 2 filings
• Ata Action — $60,000 on 2 filings
• Pritikin Icr, LLC — $45,000 on 1 filing
• Ata Action — $40,000 on 2 filings
• American Association for Respiratory Care — $20,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.