Early implementation of cardiac rehabilitation in the heart failure population

Abstract

In the spring of 2014 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) began providing coverage for outpatient cardiac rehabilitation for patients with heart failure, providing they met qualifying criteria. Prior to this, our cardiac rehabilitation department received referrals for this population but, in most cases, was unable to provide services due to lack of insurance coverage. Due to this discrepancy, our team applied for and received a grant from our institution’s office of philanthropy, the Legacy Health Foundation. This grant enabled us to begin providing cardiac rehabilitation services to our patients with heart failure in September, 2013, prior to the decision of the CMS. In doing so, we were better prepared to provide care to this population once coverage ensued in April, 2014.