WASHINGTON – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema and a bipartisan group of senators wrote the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) urging them to allow Arizona seniors to receive certain Medicare Part B injections and infusions at home instead of a doctor’s office to protect them during the coronavirus outbreak.
“Staying home is key to slowing the spread of coronavirus and keeping Arizonans safe, and seniors with chronic conditions are particularly at risk. We must allow Arizona seniors to access needed medications and treatments in their own homes if their physician recommends it,” said Sinema.
Currently, Arizona seniors on Medicare Part B medications for underlying health conditions must receive their infusions or injections at their doctor’s office on a regular basis. Many of these seniors are often dealing with serious chronic conditions such as COPD or cancer, and could potentially be exposed to COVID-19 while at the doctor’s office or out in their communities. Many individual practices are also reducing services – which means some seniors may need to travel to a hospital for their treatments, further increasing their risk of exposure. Sinema is urging CMS and HHS to make temporary changes and allow Medicare beneficiaries to receive their medications in the comfort of their own homes, under a health care provider’s supervision, to better protect them from the coronavirus outbreak.
Read Sinema’s letter HERE.
Sinema has also added a resources page to her website, www.sinema.senate.gov/corona, for Arizonans looking for the latest information on coronavirus.
Click HERE for Spanish version of release.
