Sponsor
Maxwell Frost
Representative · D-FL
Representative · D-FL
The bill secures fully covered home resiliency equipment for medically at‑risk Medicare beneficiaries to reduce cost burdens and improve safety during power/climate events, but it raises federal costs and risks gaps, administrative delays, or provider participation problems driven by targeted eligibility rules and reimbursement limits.
Medicare beneficiaries identified as medically at-risk will receive 100% coverage for home resiliency services (e.g., heat pumps, solar batteries) starting Jan 1, 2027, reducing out-of-pocket costs and financial strain for seniors and low- and middle-income beneficiaries.
People who rely on temperature- or power-sensitive medical equipment (e.g., home ventilator users) will gain protections against power loss during disasters by qualifying for resiliency items like batteries or backup systems.
State and local governments (and program administrators) will have HHS consult NIH, CMS, and NOAA and use regional climate risk data to target eligibility to higher-disaster-risk areas, increasing the likelihood that the program reaches places of greater need.
Taxpayers and Medicare beneficiaries could see higher federal spending and upward pressure on Medicare program costs or premiums due to expanding coverage and 100% payment for resiliency services.
Medicare beneficiaries and people with disabilities may be excluded if the 20-year regional risk models used to define 'medically at-risk' fail to capture acute local hazards or future risks, leaving some vulnerable individuals without coverage.
Medicare beneficiaries and providers could face limited vendor participation or disputes if full payment is set at the lesser of provider charge or a Secretary-set fee schedule that contractors view as insufficient.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires Medicare coverage and 100% payment for defined home resiliency services for medically at‑risk beneficiaries to protect against climate or manmade disasters.
Official title: To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide coverage of medically necessary home resiliency services under Medicare.
Introduced May 12, 2026 by Maxwell Frost · Last progress May 12, 2026
Creates a new Medicare benefit that covers and pays for "home resiliency services" for beneficiaries the Secretary designates as medically at‑risk for climate or manmade disasters. The provision defines covered items (examples: heat pumps, solar batteries, energy‑efficient cold storage), requires interagency consultation to set criteria for who is medically at‑risk based on local climate/power risks and medical reliance on temperature/power‑sensitive equipment, and requires Medicare to pay 100% of the lesser of actual charge or a fee schedule for these services beginning January 1, 2027. This expands Medicare’s scope from medical care to preventive home investments aimed at protecting patients who rely on electricity or temperature control for health, and creates a new process for identifying eligible beneficiaries using geography‑specific, forward‑looking risk and clinical factors.