The Home Care Association of America (HCAOA) and the California Association for Health Services at Home (CAHSAH) are suing the state of California over a policy that gives labor unions access to caregivers’ personal information for the purpose of organizing. In their suit, the plaintiffs, represented by Littler Mendelson, claim that the state policy is […]
Category: Legislation
A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers is looking to relax federal anti-kickback rules related to how, when and where physicians refer their patients. Doing so could mean smoother referral relationships for home health providers, especially the biggest ones and those operating within an accountable care organization (ACO). Efforts to loosen anti-kickback regulations come from the […]
A relatively little-known bill in the home health care world currently being marked up in the U.S. House of Representatives could have a big impact on providers — and the post-acute care space overall. Introduced on June 21 by Reps. Richard Neal (D-Mass.) and Kevin Brady (R-Texas), the Beneficiary Education Tools Telehealth Extender Reauthorization (BETTER) […]
At least 22 states and localities are increasing minimum wages on July 1. At the same time, the House of Representatives is expected to vote on whether to raise the federal minimum wage to $15, more than double the current rate of $7.25. While many people are celebrating the pay hikes as a victory for […]
A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers is trying to make the delivery of home health therapy services more flexible by broadening Medicare rules on who can open cases. Specifically, two identical bills that would allow occupational therapists to open home health therapy cases were introduced in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives earlier […]
Despite objections from the home care industry, legislation that would allow caregivers in one state to poach clients appears to be moving forward after getting support from the governor. “We strongly believe the health, safety, and comfort of our elderly or persons with disabilities should not be disrupted by an employer limiting their employees with […]
Home care has a huge immigrant workforce, so policies restricting immigration may only worsen recruitment and retention problems, providers and researchers warn. Across the board, the health care sector often relies on immigrant labor — especially for the care of older adults. In fact, immigrants accounted for more than 18% of U.S. health care workers […]
Home care providers and legislators in one state are voicing concerns about recent legislation that would allow caregivers to poach clients from home care agencies without being penalized. The provision was recently written into the Connecticut state budget. It bans noncompete contracts and similar agreements in “homemaker, companion or home health services.” In other words, […]
Home care agencies in one state could soon lose the right to prevent caregivers from poaching their clients, a move opponents worry would devastate providers. A provision recently added to the Connecticut state budget bans noncompete contracts and similar agreements in “homemaker, companion or home health services.” If passed, the legislation would remove home care […]
U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.) plan to introduce new legislation to make assistive technology more accessible to seniors and people with disabilities. The goal is to make it easier for people to age in place. “Survey after survey indicates that seniors envision themselves living independently at home in their own community […]