To require the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation to test allowing blood transfusions to be paid separately from the Medicare hospice all-inclusive per diem payment.

HR9703, introduced by Rep. Dingell on July 15, 2026, and referred to the House Ways and Means Committee, directs the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) to test a model where blood transfusions are paid separately from the Medicare hospice all-inclusive per diem payment. This is a procedural authorization for a demonstration project, not a direct change in Medicare payment policy. The bill does not appropriate any funds; it merely requires CMMI to design and test the model. As of July 16, 2026, the bill has no cosponsors and is in the earliest legislative stage. The legislative path requires committee markup, House passage, Senate companion bill, and presidential approval—a multi-year process with low probability of enactment in its current form.

The money trail is absent: the bill authorizes no specific dollar amount. CMMI demonstrations are typically funded through existing CMS administrative budgets or the Medicare Trust Fund, but no new allocation is made here. The mechanism is a payment model test, not a procurement or grant program. Therefore, no direct revenue stream is created for any company.

Structural winners and losers: The only publicly traded pure-play hospice provider is Chemed ($CHE), whose VITAS Healthcare segment operates hospice programs nationwide. If the demonstration were to eventually lead to higher reimbursement for blood transfusions, it could benefit VITAS by improving margins on patients requiring transfusions. However, the demonstration is voluntary, limited in scope, and years away from any potential permanent policy change. Other hospice providers are either private or part of larger diversified healthcare systems (e.g., HCA's hospice operations are a tiny fraction of revenue). Blood product and transfusion service companies like Haemonetics ($HAE) or Grifols ($GRIF) are not directly affected because the bill changes payment, not procurement or utilization.

Timeline: The bill must pass the House Ways and Means Committee, then the full House, then find a Senate companion, then be signed into law. Given the 119th Congress is already in its second year (2026), the window for passage is narrow. Even if enacted, CMMI would need to design and implement the demonstration, which typically takes 1-2 years. Near-term market impact is negligible.