According to a news release from the office of U.S. Senator Angus King, I-Maine, there is bipartisan legislation to convert the Independence at Home (IAH) Demonstration into a permanent, national Medicare program. Independence at Home is a team-based model medical approach that takes care to patients suffering from multiple debilitating diseases, such as Alzheimer's, ALS, congestive heart failure, diabetes and Parkinson's.

Independence at Home empowers teams of doctors, care givers and other health care professionals to coordinate and provide primary care services in the comfort of patients' own homes, reducing unnecessary emergency room visits and avoidable hospitalizations and readmissions, as well as the costs associated with them, according to the release.

According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Independence at Home payment model saved more than $25 million in its first performance year alone, an average of $3,070 per participating beneficiary, the release said.

"The Independence at Home program has brought high-quality health care services and greater peace of mind to patients and families, all while saving money,” said King, in the release. “I'd like to be able to see Maine families enjoy these same benefits. By expanding this program, Congress can build on the successful efforts we have seen across the country and allow people with chronic conditions in Maine, where traveling to a doctor can be especially difficult, to get the care they need at home while staying out of the hospital."

In 2012, Independence at Home began as a three-year demonstration program. Last year, the House and Senate approved a two-year extension. The Senate Finance Committee's Chronic Care Working Group is currently considering making IAH nationwide in scope.

Upon passage as part of the health care law, the Independence at Home program:

Established a voluntary patient-centered, pilot program in 13 Independent Practices and one Consortium;

Used a coordinated health care delivery model to ensure that Medicare beneficiaries with multiple chronic conditions who also need help with the activities of daily living can remain independent for as long as possible in the comfort of their own homes;

Reduced costs by coordinating the care of these patients and reducing duplicative and unnecessary services, preventing hospitalizations, and lowering other health care costs;

Created an incentive for additional savings through investment in health IT and other technologies; and

Developed a new career path for primary care physicians by enabling them to lead IAH organizations and receive reimbursement for house calls.

More information about the Independence at Home program and CMS's program evaluation can he found at innovation.cms.gov/initiatives/independence-at-home.

The was introduced in July by Senators Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., John Cornyn, R-Texas, Michael Bennet, D-Colo., and Rob Portman, R-Ohio.