As $1.9T Stimulus Bill Heads to Senate, Here’s What It Could Mean for In-Home Care

The House of Representatives passed the Biden administration’s $1.9 trillion stimulus bill Saturday, which means the next step for the “American Rescue Plan” is to go through the Senate, where its provisions related to home-based care will likely be tinkered with again. Because pandemic-related unemployment benefits are set to expire on March 14, lawmakers are […]

Labor Policies Threaten Home Care Providers: ‘Agencies Are Truly Getting the Worst of Both Ends’

Home-based care providers are dealing with an ongoing pandemic and simultaneously tackling vaccine education, procurement and distribution. Now, a slew of legislative labor provisions are threatening to disrupt both home health and home care agencies across the country. After President Joe Biden was inaugurated, his administration released a fact sheet that said “workers have a […]

Top Home Health, Home Care Legal Concerns for 2021

Wage-and-hour litigation, confusing state-level regulations and an increase in federal audits were among the biggest legal trends of 2020. While many of these issues will remain in the year ahead, 2021 will also bring several more legal hurdles for home-based care providers. The decision of whether to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for home health and home […]

Lack of Stimulus Bill Could Lead to Rise in COVID-Related Lawsuits

Throughout 2020, there have been a number of new laws and legal trends that could have major impacts on the in-home care industry. In order for providers to be successful in the long run, it’s important to remain abreast of the latest developments. That was the message delivered by Angelo Spinola, an attorney and shareholder […]

DOL Revises FFCRA Regulations, Potentially Sparing Home-Based Care Providers

Originally, home-based care providers were largely exempt from the mandates tied to the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), including significant paid sick and family leave for workers during the COVID-19 crisis. Yet in early August, a court ruling by the Southern District of New York found that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) had […]

NAHC’s Dombi: COVID-19 Tests Have Limitations, Shouldn’t Be Viewed as ‘Panacea’

Home health operators shouldn’t get overly excited about federal testing support just yet. William A. Dombi — president of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC), a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group — is cautioning providers to take a measured view of the conversation regarding potential COVID-19 tests being sent to the home health […]

New Court Ruling Creating ‘Tremendous Amount of Confusion’ Over Paid Leave in Home Care

After a Monday ruling regarding the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), many home-based care agencies are no longer considered health care providers, meaning they’ll now be forced to abide by robust federal paid-time-off mandates. “There’s a tremendous amount of confusion [over this], and I think that a lot of providers do not understand what […]