Over the past several years, many states have strengthened their home- and community-based services (HCBS) programs by covering more services and increasing rates. Now, over a dozen members of Congress are trying to give states additional funding to help expand those HCBS programs further. “A vast majority of seniors and people with disabilities would prefer […]
Category: Legislation
In an attempt to lower administrative burden, Cigna Healthcare — the health insurance arm of The Cigna Group (NYSE: CI) — announced that it is removing nearly 25% of medical services from its prior authorization requirements. Broadly, prior authorization is the process that occurs when a health care provider requests a patient to receive a […]
New legislation that would establish the first minimum wage requirement for health care workers advanced in the California State Assembly earlier this month. Although the news will be greeted warmly by caregivers in the Golden State, experts in the home-based care space are worried the minimum wage increase will have adverse effects on providers. “It […]
The Preserving Access to Home Health Act of 2023 was introduced Thursday. Its largest objective is to prevent further cuts to home health payments in 2024 and beyond. The bill, if passed, would also strip the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of some of its payment-rate setting power and force the The Medicare […]
A group of lawmakers have rolled out a new Senate bill that would direct the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) to develop a palliative care-specific payment model demonstration. The bill is dubbed the Expanding Access to Palliative Care Act. Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), John Barrasso (R-Wy.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) and Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) […]
There’s a good argument to be made that one of the biggest successes in the history of Bayada Home Health Care came from a pre-dinner conversation in a parking lot 14 years ago. It was 2009, and Dave Totaro had just been hired by the company’s founder, Mark Baiada, as Bayada’s first chief marketing officer. […]
When it comes to legislation aimed at expanding at-home care initiatives, most have learned to temper expectations from the jump. That’s part of the reason why the new, sweeping Expanding Care in the Home Act (ECHA) casts such a wide net. When the Washington D.C.-based advocacy group Moving Health Home was formed, two of the […]
A group of lawmakers has introduced legislation that not only focuses on improving conditions for professional caregivers, but family caregivers as well. On Wednesday, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-Pa.) — Chairman of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging — joined seven other senators in introducing the Supporting Our Direct Care Workforce and Family Caregivers […]
Home-based care has experienced a series of symbolic wins in 2023, many of which came from President Biden himself or his administration. But not all home-based care providers feel like victors. Home-based care is a broad term, and there is a large chunk of providers that haven’t felt the warmth from policymakers in Washington, D.C., […]
A new bill that would remove certain barriers to home-based care will soon be introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Expanding Care in the Home Act (ECHA) would, among other things, create a personal care services benefit in Medicare to give aid to beneficiaries who are unable to afford out-of-pocket payments but don’t […]
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