The Home Care Association of America (HCAOA) is backing home care-focused legislation introduced by Vice President-elect J.D. Vance (R-OH) and Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH). 

The Continuous Skilled Nursing Quality Improvement Act (S.4122) was introduced back in April, and would redefine “private duty nursing services” as “continuous skilled nursing services.” It would also require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to move to establish national quality standards of care for these services.

“The care provided by continuous skilled nursing allows patients to remain at home while getting the care they need,” Hassan said in an April press release. “Medicaid standards should reflect the unique work of nurses who provide complex one-on-one care to individuals at home. I am glad to support this bipartisan legislation that can help us better understand and evaluate the vital work of skilled nurses who help individuals with disabilities thrive at home.”

The Continuous Skilled Nursing Quality Improvement Act would also position states to track more meaningful data to help improve the quality of care.

Specifically, this legislation addresses continuous skilled nursing services under Medicaid. HCAOA believes that the bill is a step in the right direction.

“By establishing national quality standards, this legislation promotes consistency and accountability across providers, which is critical for enhancing patient outcomes,” Eric M. Reinarman, vice president of government relations, told HHCN in an email. “We see this as a positive development for the broader home care industry and are encouraged by the bill’s focus on quality improvement.”

HCAOA was involved in the early stages of crafting this bill, according to Reinarman.

“[Private duty nursing services] providers have always struggled to educate lawmakers on their services due to other similarly-named services such as ‘private duty,’” he said. “[Private duty nursing services] has also frequently been conflated with home health, when, in reality, it is a unique Medicaid benefit with its own requirements and lifesaving benefits. This legislation gives the industry the ability to work through some of these issues in a bipartisan manner with a minimal fiscal impact.”

Ultimately, Reinarman believes that if the legislation passes, it will lessen the confusion around benefits, and also create uniformity among states and federal regulations.

“HCAOA believes this represents a positive shift, as clearer and more consistent quality measures can help providers deliver better, more reliable care,” he said. “It will also ensure that patients across states receive a comparable level of high-quality service, which is critical for those with complex medical needs who depend on [continuous skilled nursing] services for daily living and health management.”