Think Home Care Blog: Recent Episodes
None
Federal Outlook What a Donald Trump Presidency Means for Health Care After months of speculation, the American people have voted that they hate Joe Biden in sunglasses and his love of ice cream by electing Donald Trump to be the 47th president of the United States. While border security and Trumps DOJ pick are getting … Continue reading "Did You Hear That? – November 2024"
Federal Outlook Presidential Candidate Stances on Health Care As everyone is aware if they have watched any cable news recently, the presidential election is right around the corner. Today I would like to breakdown each candidate (the real candidates, VP Kamala Harris & Donald Trump) stances on health care and long-term care specifically. I would … Continue reading "Did You Hear About That? – October 2024"
Federal Outlook Potential Government Shutdown? Congress Continues to Prove that Doing Nothing is a Challenge Once again, like every year, we are flirting with another government shutdown. The government is set to shutdown if a final deal or more likely a stopgap measure is not passed. Potential government shutdowns are nothing new now, we have … Continue reading "Did You Hear That? – September 2024"
Federal Outlook/Recap Presidential Race and Presidential Race Alone Let me just cut to the chase so i don’t waste your time. Congress is on halt until January 2025 when a new President is sworn in. all action that happens in Congress will be directly related to helping messaging for either presidential campaign, case in point … Continue reading "Did You See That! – August 2024"
Like last year, June is my month to take a step back from the news and give myself a break from the constant stream of aggravating headlines, and head throbbing reports. Which is why there was no piece last month. Federal Outlook How the Supreme Court Chevron Ruling Could Affect Home Care In a historic … Continue reading "Did You See That! – July 2024"
Federal Outlook Tariffs? We are Talking About Tariffs? This topic has absolutely nothing to do with health care in any way, but it could have an surprising impact on the presidential election race. President Biden announced recently that United States Trade Representative (USTR) plans to increase tariffs significantly on $18 billion on imports of clean-energy … Continue reading "“Did You See That” – May 2024"
Federal Outlook America is Having a Severe Case of Déjà Vu As we know, history tends to repeat its self-time and time again. Many of you may have heard about the weird parallels between Lincoln and JFK, such as that both presidents were shot in the back of the head, on the Friday before a … Continue reading "“Did You See That” – March 2024"
Federal Outlook Senate Passes $95.3 Billion Foreign Aid Bill, DOA in House The Senate passed a $95.3 billion foreign aid bill with assistance for Ukraine and Israel, setting up a showdown with the House. The foreign aid package includes billions of dollars to support Ukraine and for security assistance for Israel, as well as humanitarian … Continue reading "“Did You See That” – February 2024"
Quick Note I hope everyone had a great holiday break! I know I did!! This may just be my negative winter northeastern mind kicking in, but I might be the only person who really doesn’t enjoy “year in review” look back segments. Weather its friends posting their year in photos on Instagram, CNN covering all … Continue reading "Did You See That?!? – January 2024"
Federal Recap And the Winner Is!?!?!?! After what has felt like an eternity, the House has finally elected a new Speaker of the House……. Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA-4). Now I imagine that a lot of you said…. Who?!?!?! When he was elected. Well, you are not alone. After multiple weeks and several unsuccessful speaker bids … Continue reading "Did You See That?!? – November 2023"
Federal Recap Making History Isn’t Always a Good Thing So……. Who had the U.S. Congress ousting Speaker McCarthy on their 2023 bingo board? In a crazy turn of events, in a historic vote, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 216-to-210 to oust Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy, marking the first time a speaker has been removed … Continue reading "Did You See That? – October 2023"
If politicians at the state and federal level have all of August off, why can’t I! rather than cover very little news in the August version of the rundown, I decided to take a break like everyone else in politics did, to re-group, recharge my batteries and watch my Mets season completely fall apart. The … Continue reading "Did You See That? – September 2023"
State Recap HCA Provides Testimony at Elder Affairs Hearing On June 19th, HCA provided verbal testimony (Add Testimony HERE) at a Massachusetts state Elder Affairs Committee Hearing. HCA provided testimony on H.640/S.397, An Act to Improve Infection Control in Massachusetts Home Care, which would direct EOHHS to establish a mandatory infection control training program for … Continue reading "The Rundown – July 2023"
State Recap EOHHS Holds Hearing on Chapter 257 Rates for Certain Elder Care Services On May 19th, HCA testified at the EOHHS Chapter 257 rate review hearing. As a reminder, EOHHS has proposed increasing rates for Enhanced Community Options Program (ECOP) Direct Services from $749.47 to $976.08 per client per month and rates for Home … Continue reading "The Rundown – June 2023"
State Recap EOHHS Releases Proposed Chapter 257 Rates for Certain Elder Care Services On Friday, Executive Office for Health and Human Services (EOHHS) released their proposed Chapter 257 Rates for Certain Elder Care Services. We are happy to report that EOHHS proposed increasing Enhanced Community Options Program (ECOP) Direct Services from $749.47 to $976.08 per … Continue reading "The Rundown – May 2023"
Federal Recap HCA Travels to DC to advocate for Home Care To end the month, HCA along with member agencies, Care Central VNA & Hospice and Seraphic Springs Health Care Agency traveled to DC to meet with members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation. HCA updated congressional staff about the ongoing worker shortage that the industry is currently … Continue reading "The Rundown – April 2023"
Considered to be "the bible for home care" in Massachusetts, copies of the the 2023 Resource Directory have been shipped to every case manager, hospital, COA, state legislator, and GCM in Massachusetts. Copies available for purchase.
I would apologize for not writing a February edition of “The Rundown”, but honestly there wasn’t enough to write about at the state and mainly the federal level to justify a rundown. Federal Recap At the federal level, over the last month and a half, Members of Congress have basically spent their time creating sounds … Continue reading "The Rundown – March 2023"
Federal Apologies for the delay with the January edition of “The Rundown”, but if the federal government could delay swearing in their members, then I can be late with my report. To put it mildly, things got a little crazy since November at the federal level. Federal Budget To put it mildly, things got a … Continue reading "The Rundown – January"
No Time to Waste! Urge Your Member of Congress to Delay CMS’s 2023 Home Health Rate Cuts While I usually use the first section to cover federal news, this cannot wait. On October 31, 2022, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a final rule that will reduce Medicare payments for home health services by $635 … Continue reading "The Rundown – December"
Following the release of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) FY 2023 Home Health Final Payment Rule, HCA along with the National Association for Home Care and Hospice (NAHC) re-engaged with the sponsoring offices of the Preserving Access to Home Health Act (S. 4605/H.R. 8581) on refining the legislation to better its chances for passage … Continue reading "Urge Your Member of Congress to Delay CMS’s 2023 Home Health Rate Cuts"
Tis the season! CareAcademy, a leader in home care education, has some ideas for ensuring that your caregivers feel valued and connected with your agency.
Last week, we honored eight incredible individuals and four innovative programs at the 2022 Home Care Star Awards & Innovations Showcase.
The Alliance signed onto an advocacy letter written by the National Association for Home Care and Hospice (NAHC) to House and Senate leadership asking for their support in suspending the implementation of CMS’s final for the Home Health Prospective Payment System (HHPPS).
Federal Recap Red wave!!!! More like a drizzle, just like meteorologist over-projecting rain fall during a summer storm, everyone over speculated how well Republicans would result in the midterm elections. While Massachusetts went the way everyone thought It would with Democrats holding onto every seat, nationally Republicans did not have the night that anyone could … Continue reading "The Rundown – November Midterm Election Edition"
The Home Care Alliance was quoted in an article published by the CommonWealth that highlighted HCA's and the Enough Pay to Stay (EPTS) Coalitions pursuit to make the EPTS rate add-ons permanent for home health aides. Below is an excerpt from the article.
The Home Care Alliance was quoted in State House News Service's coverage of an Executive Office of Health and Human Services public hearing on implementation of the Enough Pay to Stay rate add-ons. During the hearing HCA argued that the rate add-ons must be made permanent. Below is an excerpt from the State House News Service's article.
Federal Recap Jake Krilovich flew down to D.C. to meet with members of the Massachusetts delegation to gain their support for The Preserving Access to Home Health Act of 2022, which would delay CMS’s from implementing their proposed 7.69% payment cut, and an additional $2 billion in “clawback” cuts to home healthcare services. We are … Continue reading "The Rundown – October 2022"
The Alliance's Find-An-Agency search is now mobile-responsive and has several other enhancements. Check it out at www.thinkhomecare.org/agencies.
CMS released their annual proposed rule for Medicare home health services, which includes a proposed reduction to payment rates, and an additional $2 billion in “clawback” cuts to home healthcare services for CY2023.
Please use the action alert below to write to your member of Congress urging them to support The Preserving Access to Home Health Act of 2022.
Our 2022 Annual Report highlights the Alliance and Foundation's achievements and finances over the past 12 months.
Don't miss out on the biggest home care and hospice event in the region, with dozens of exhibitors at our trade show.
Considered to be "the bible for home care" in Massachusetts, copies of the the 2022 Resource Directory have been shipped to every case manager, hospital, COA, state legislator, and GCM in Massachusetts. Additional copies are available for purchase.
Join us & hundreds of home health colleagues as the New England Conference returns in-person to Newport, RI, May 11-13, 2022.
Don't miss this opportunity to exhibit at the biggest home care and hospice event in the region. The NEHCC will be live and in-person May 11-13, 2022.
The Alliance's Board of Directors has appointed Jacob Krilovich as Executive Director of the Alliance.
Join us to honor excellence in home care, as we present the Star Awards at the 2021 "Our Time to Shine." The event will be held at Granite Links in Quincy, MA on Tuesday, November
The Massachusetts Hospital Association—in collaboration with several organizations, including the Alliance—has created After the Hospital: A Guide to Post-Acute Care to inform patients and their caregivers of their options for care after a major change in a patient's health.
The New England Home Care & Hospice Conference and Trade Show is the region’s premier event for home care and hospice agencies. The conference is hosted by the six New England state home care associations, which collectively represent nearly 400 organizations. This coming year, the conference heads to Newport, RI from May 11-13! The conference is designed … Continue reading "2022 New England Home Care & Hospice Conference Call for Speakers Now Open!"
Introducing Home Health 101, our new online orientation for home health clinicians and managers, with a focus on compliance regulation.
Cheryl Rumley—founder and president of Apex Homecare—offers a powerful, first-person account of her experience running an agency during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
To ensure that home health agencies in Massachusetts can provide high-quality care to older adults, the Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts has submitted comments to the federal government regarding the proposed rule for next year’s Medicare home health rates. Our comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) address several sections of the … Continue reading "Alliance Comments to CMS on CY2022 Home Health Rule"
In response to the new OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard issued in June, the Alliance has teamed up with Barbara Citarella of RBC Limited to produce an e-book on Workplace Safety for Occupational Exposure to COVID-19. The document includes model policies and multiple forms in the addendum section that will be helpful as guidance for compliance … Continue reading "Alliance Partners with RBC Ltd on OSHA Manual"
Please help us advocate for The Choose Home Care Act, which would provide eligible recipients with SNF-like levels of care at home for 30 days post hospital discharge.
Our 2021 Annual Report highlights the Alliance and Foundation's achievements over the past 12 months, and looks forward to our post-COVID future.
The 2021 Private Care Directories will connect thousands of Massachusetts residents with the home care agencies they need.