Increasing Access to Quality Cardiac Rehabilitation Care Act of 2025
Congress Bill Would Let More Clinicians Refer Medicare Patients to Heart and Lung Rehab Programs
Stalled
No legislative action in over 90 days.
Legislative Progress
Key Points
- Expands who can prescribe Medicare-covered heart rehab and lung rehab to include certain advanced practice clinicians, not just doctors.
- Changes the setting language so cardiac rehab can be provided in a broader “office setting,” which may open up more places to offer it.
- Could help patients start rehab sooner after a heart or lung event by reducing bottlenecks when a doctor isn’t immediately available.
- Affects Medicare patients who need cardiac rehab or pulmonary rehab, and the clinics and medical offices that provide these programs.
- Would take effect for services given starting 6 months after the bill becomes law.
Impact Analysis
Personal Impact
How this policy affects specific groups of people
Milestones
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Introduced in Senate
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Votes
No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.
Related News
3 articles
Capito offers bipartisan bill to expand access to cardiac, pulmonary rehab services
Covers S.717 and explains the Medicare change to allow PAs, NPs, and clinical nurse specialists to order cardiac/pulmonary rehab; highlights rural access and delays from physician-only referral rules.
Capito, Klobuchar Introduce Legislation to Increase Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Care Access
Announcement of the bill’s introduction and its core provisions: expanding who can order cardiac and pulmonary rehab under Medicare and reducing referral bottlenecks.
Driving Change: Nurse Advocates at the Forefront of Cardiovascular Policy
Advocacy round-up that explicitly lists support for S.717 among multiple cardiovascular policy priorities; useful context on stakeholder support but not a full bill explainer.
Source Information
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
Increasing Access to Quality Cardiac Rehabilitation Care Act of 2025
Data Sources
Sponsor
Cosponsors
(1)Analysis generated by AI. Always verify with official sources.