John W. Walsh Alpha-1 Home Infusion Act of 2025
Key claim: The bill would add Medicare coverage for at-home augmentation therapy, furnished by qualified home infusion suppliers, for beneficiaries with emphysema due to severe hereditary alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency.
Abstract
(HR2343 · 119th Congress) John W. Walsh Alpha-1 Home Infusion Act of 2025 This bill provides for Medicare coverage of treatment for alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency (a protein deficiency that raises the risk of lung and other diseases). Specifically, the bill provides for coverage of at-home augmentation therapy for beneficiaries with emphysema as a result of severe hereditary AAT deficiency. Treatment must be provided through qualified home infusion therapy suppliers; beneficiaries must be under the care of a physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant. Latest action (2025-03-25): Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Why this matters
The bill would expand Medicare’s home infusion benefit to a specific rare-disease therapy (AAT augmentation) that is currently typically delivered in outpatient settings, potentially reducing patient travel burden and site-of-care costs for a lifelong weekly infusion. It fits a broader pattern of proposals (e.g., the Preserving Patient Access to Home Infusion Act) seeking to broaden which drugs and delivery models Medicare will pay for in the home.