On Tuesday, House Democrats unveiled the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, the latest COVID-19 stimulus bill. Of note for home-based care providers hoping to keep their front-line staff, the proposed relief package includes a $200 billion fund for essential worker hazard pay. Increasingly, the coronavirus has placed home-based care workers on […]
Category: Legislation
Home health providers were thrilled when they first heard they would be receiving “no strings attached” payments from the Provider Relief Fund, which was mandated by the CARES Act. However, agencies quickly learned that there was more to the story. The grant funding comes with conditions, and confusion around those conditions has some home health […]
Coming into 2020, home health care providers were preparing for drastic changes to the way that low-utilization payment adjustments (LUPAs) were calculated, a nuance of the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM), which took effect Jan. 1. However, what no one predicted is how the coronavirus would even further rock the LUPA landscape. Amid the COVID-19 emergency, […]
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) held a virtual press conference on Wednesday to make a series of demands on behalf of home care workers. The press conference also allowed a few workers to directly share their personal hardships during the public health crisis. As of April 9, over 9,000 health care workers had contracted […]
The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) took “unprecedented” action to reduce red tape for home health care agencies and other Medicare providers on Monday. Although the changes are, in theory, temporary, many home health stakeholders welcomed the newfound flexibility aimed at the COVID-19 pandemic. Some, however, were left scratching their heads, confused […]
On Friday, President Donald Trump’s signature finalized a record-breaking $2 trillion stimulus package, officially titled the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The act’s aim: to provide much needed financial relief to both individuals and businesses during the COVID-19 crisis. While the CARES Act does a number of things, it specifically sets aside […]
The House of Representatives passed a $2 trillion stimulus package Friday, officially clearing one of the last major hurdles for the emergency bill set to aid both American companies and individuals during the COVID-19 crisis. The record-breaking stimulus package also includes several provisions aimed at home health providers. Now signed into law, it will likely […]
The home health industry moved one step closer to a monumental victory on Wednesday after the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly voted in support of a $2 trillion stimulus bill. Most notably, the bill seeks to allow non-physicians to certify for home health services and take charge of patients’ care plans, an authority home health stakeholders have […]
President Donald Trump signed the Supporting Older Americans Act of 2020 into law Wednesday. By doing so, the president reauthorized the Older Americans Act (OAA). The OAA provides funding for services to thousands of agencies and organizations to help seniors maintain dignity and keep them out of nursing homes and hospitals. Originally enacted in 1965, […]
Political leaders agreed to one of the most expensive legislative packages in the history of Congress on Wednesday, finalizing the details of a roughly $2 trillion stimulus bill. While the record-breaking package has far-reaching implications for the overall economy, it also reportedly includes specific language that could trigger significant change throughout the home-based care landscape […]