Home care unions in California are lobbying for a new federal rule, one that has the potential of hurting the population they serve, reports a Los Angeles Times article. The rule would require overtime pay for in-home caregivers, who unions argue should not be paid less than other workers just because they are employed in […]
Category: Legislation
A piece of legislation that would replace the current competitive bidding system for Medicare-based durable medical equipment claims is gaining support among Congress members, now touting nearly 100 co-sponsors. The bill, H.R. 1717, would replace competitive bidding with a market pricing program. The legislation, introduced by Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.). Price, how has 96 co-sponsors, […]
A new bill introduced this week would help boost funding for certain at-home senior services that were previously cut back, including Meals on Wheels. The bill, introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.), who chairs the Senate Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging, would strengthen the Older Americans Act—a support of various programs for older Americans, […]
Minnesota state legislature approved a bill this week that would give home care workers the right to unionize. The state’s House of Representatives passed legislation Monday by a vote of 68-66, which would allow unions to negotiate on behalf of providers serving clients that receive government subsidies such as Medicaid. Minnesota’s Senate passed the bill […]
The Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare today thanked Pennsylvania lawmakers for supporting access to coordinated home-based care. The bipartisan group of Pennsylvania legislators requested that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) extend the grants provided in the Medicare Coordinated Care Demonstration (MCCD) beyond its current expiration date of June 2013. The program, which […]
The bill that would put an end to Round 2 of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Competitive Bidding program has been gaining momentum in the House. Only two weeks after its introduction by Rep. Tom Price, M.D. (R-Ga.) and Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.), H.R. 1717 has garnered the support of 19 House […]
The Vermont House approved a bill last week that would allow home care workers in the state to receive workplace benefits through unionization. In an 95-41 vote, the House voted in favor of home care bill S.59, which proposes to establish a Direct Support Provider Workforce Council for the recruitment and retention of home care workers, […]
A Massachusetts hearing this week weighed the need for home care legislative measures within the state. As one of just five states that do not currently have licensure or certificate-of-need process for home health care providers, more oversight is needed, home care representatives and elected officials told Massachusetts’ Joint Committee on Health Care Financing Tuesday according […]
Last night, the efforts of two Congressmen introduced a bill that will prevent the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) from implementing Round 2 of its competitive bidding program. H.R. 1717, the Medicare DMEPOS Market Pricing Program Act of 2013, will stop the bidding program, forcing CMS to adopt a market-based approach to determine prices […]
This month, the Illinois House of Representatives approved a supplemental spending bill that provides funds for community care to keep seniors in their homes. Approved in a landslide 115-2 vote, the legislation allocates $173 million for home health services. The approval is the latest in a string of events that began in mid-March with a […]