The growing demand for home care workers as the American population ages is being undermined by a lack of incentive to enter the industry, particularly when it comes to compensation. It’s been 75 years since President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Fair Labor Standards Act into law providing federal minimum wage and overtime protection to most […]
Category: Legislation
U.S. Representatives are moving forward with a new bill that looks to delay the start of Round 2 of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) competitive bidding program for durable medical equipment (DME). Last week, Reps. Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) and Bruce Braley (D-IA) introduced H.R. 2375 after a letter—signed by 227 Members […]
Ohio’s congressional delegation has asked the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to suspend its competitive bidding program for durable medical equipment, often provided by home care agencies. The state legislature sought respite from the program through a letter to CMS citing violations of the rules on behalf of unlicensed providers. “We request that CMS […]
Last week, staff members of the Senate Subcommittee on Primary Care and Aging shadowed an in-home care worker following introduced reauthorization of the Older Americans Act (OAA). The Subcommittee staff comprised of Sophie Kasimow, Erica Solway and Bill Gendell, visited the home of 85-year old Irene White, an 85-year-old Washington, D.C. resident with Alzheimer’s disease. […]
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 […]
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 […]
Subscribe
Receive industry updates and breaking news from HHCN