WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Susan Collins won a major victory Friday in her fight to amend the "homebound" classification in the law governing Medicare eligibility requirements, with the Senate's approval of a two-year trial program that would update the definition of "homebound" for certain Medicare beneficiaries. The legislation was approved by the Senate as part of the historic Medicare bill. "Current Medicare regulations fail to recognize that an individual's mental acuity and physical stamina can only be maintained by use, and that the use of the body and mind is encouraged by social interaction outside the four walls of a home," said Senator Susan Collins. "I have long worked to update the ‘homebound' definition to base eligibility for the home health benefit on the patient's functional limitations and clinical condition, rather than on an arbitrary limitation on absences from the home. "The Senate took a step in that direction Friday by approving a two-year pilot program that would allow Medicare patients who are classified as "homebound" to continue receiving the health care they need without regard to the purpose, frequency, or duration of absences from their home." Under current law, a Medicare patient must be considered "homebound" if he or she is to be eligible for home health services. While an individual is not actually required to be bedridden to qualify for the benefit, his or her condition must be such that leaving home requires "a considerable and taxing effort by the individual." The statute does allow for brief absences from the home, however, it does not define precisely what this means. As a consequence, there have been many instances in which Medicare beneficiaries have left their homes to attend the funeral of a loved-one, for example, and have lost their home health care benefits. The amendment approved by the Senate Friday is based on Senator Collins's bill, the David Jayne Homebound Modernization act, and it calls on the Secretary of HHS to conduct a two-year Medicare demonstration project under which beneficiaries with certain chronic conditions who are deemed "homebound" can continue receiving the health care they need without regard to the purpose, frequency, or duration of absences from the home. To qualify, the beneficiary's physician has to certify that the patient has a permanent and severe condition that will not improve. The Secretary of Health and Human Services will select three states to take part in the trial program. Senator Collins will urge him to select the state of Maine as one of those three states.