President Joe Biden and his administration are using the importance of personal home care as a way to fight back against some Congress members’ desire to cut Medicaid funding. In a letter that opposed certain aspects of the “Congressional Republican agenda,” the White House criticized Republicans’ previous plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act, cut […]
Category: Legislation
Because the home care industry is so large and fragmented, consensus is often hard to come by. That is the likely outcome for the debate around banning non-compete agreements, too. For instance, there are plenty within the industry who believe that would be a step in the right direction. But then there are the providers. […]
This month, the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee removed a provision in the Elizabeth Dole Home Care Act that would have increased funding for home- and community-based services. The decision was a disappointing one for home-based care advocates. It came in the final moments before the piece of legislation was finalized. “We started out this new […]
In a move to address the shortage of health care professionals, a new House bill — the Kentucky Healthcare Workforce Development Act — has been introduced in the state. Broadly, the legislation aims to combat workforce shortages by building a public-private partnership that will increase workforce training and education initiatives. “This bill kickstarts career paths […]
Home-based care providers are enthused – at least in part – by the passing of the $1.66 trillion omnibus spending bill in December. Specifically, they’re bullish on the added transparency language required from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), a two-year extension for Medicare telehealth provisions and further value-based care incentives. “CMS being […]
Lawmakers are hoping for success the second time around. On Thursday, Senator Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and a host of other cosponsors reintroduced the Better Care Better Jobs Act into the Senate. The other lawmakers included Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), energy and commerce ranking member Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-CA.) […]
Looking back at Congress’ role in improving home-based care workforce issues in 2022, the industry saw more of an “aspirational” year than a “productive” one. That’s according to Bill Dombi, president of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC). He expressed this sentiment during a presentation at the Home Care 100 conference in […]
Home-based care providers in 2023 should stay on top of regulatory and compliance changes to federal joint employment laws. In the eyes of the Fair Labor Standards Act and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), “joint employment” means working for two or more companies, one that is responsible for their W2s and compensation and a […]
In a unanimous vote Thursday, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) recommended that the Medicare base payment rate for home health care be reduced by 7% for CY 2024. This recommendation is in line with previous recommendations by the commission over the years. The implications of a 7% reduction would mean, among other things, a […]
Home health referrals are well above where they were before the pandemic, but not necessarily at the expense of skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). There are now more patients in need of home health services, and those patients tend to be sicker. At the same time, agencies are struggling to meet demand in a tough recruiting […]
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