On Thursday, lawmakers introduced a bill that, if passed, would guarantee federal minimum wage and overtime protections for home care workers. This would effectively kill the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposal to reinstate the companionship exemption – which the lawmakers who introduced the bill called an “injustice.” The exemption has caused some division within […]
Policymakers have introduced a bill that would guarantee federal minimum wage and overtime protections for home care workers, an issue that has caused some division within the home care industry. The legislation, called the Fair Wages for Home Care Workers Act, would reject the companionship exemption, which the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) proposed reinstating […]
Jennifer Sheets, the new CEO of the National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance), is focusing “first and foremost” on home health program integrity. Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), has placed a spotlight on fraud, waste and abuse in the home health industry, and […]
Encompass Health (NYSE: EHC) and Enhabit Inc. (NYSE: EHAB) announced Thursday that they have collected $43.1 million in attorneys’ fees and mitigation damages related to the profit-sharing case with home health and hospice provider VitalCaring. In this case, a federal judge in Delaware ordered that 43% of VitalCaring’s profits and any exit proceeds from a […]
Home-based care providers face a patchwork of employment regulations, with evolving federal rules and state-level practices, requiring employers to take steps to ensure compliance. Providers, especially those operating in multiple states, must ensure their business has up-to-date classification practices, AI policies, manager training protocols and fresh handbooks. Within the next three to six months, providers […]
On Tuesday, Congress and President Donald Trump passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026, reopening the government after it partially shut down for three days, pausing two measures important to the home-based care community. The bill, passed following a political backlash to funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), funds most of the government through Sept. […]
Just months after the federal government shut down for a record 43 days, a partial shutdown is becoming increasingly likely, threatening vital Medicare flexibilities and the hospital-at-home waiver program. If lawmakers fail to pass the proposed funding package, both these flexibilities, enacted by the Trump administration in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, would expire at […]
Medicare telehealth flexibilities and the Acute Hospital at Home waiver program – critical programs for the home health industry kept alive by short-term extensions – received reason for hope on Tuesday when lawmakers proposed a three-year funding package that would include provisions for these programs. The $1.2 trillion, three-bill bipartisan funding package comes ahead of […]
The coming year is going to be defined by the tension of strong but opposing forces in the personal home care market. One major source of tension: as demand rises, labor costs have increased and home care is becoming unaffordable for many consumers. Another likely source of tension: The midterms could lead to divided government […]
2025 was characterized by significant uncertainty across the home-based care landscape. Providers grappled with uncertainties surrounding the transition to a new presidential administration, potential changes to Medicare home health payment rates and the prospect of deep cuts to the federal Medicaid budget. As providers and advocacy groups worked to navigate a wave of consequential policy […]
