Join Us for Lobby Day in DC March 29
With all the major federal policy issues facing the home health industry right now, effective advocacy on the national level is more critical than ever. The Home Care Alliance will be front and center with the National Association for Home Care & Hospice’s (NAHC) annual “March on Washington” at the end of the month, where federal advocacy on major issues will be the focus.
Some of those issues include:
- The physician face-to-face encounter requirement,
- Home health co-pays proposed by MedPAC,
- Third Party Liability/Dual Eligible issues
- Halting case mix “creep” adjustments and establishing better rebasing standards
- Allowing NP’s and PA’s to sign home health plans of care
The Alliance will host a briefing for legislative staff from the Massachusetts Congressional Delegation and for Alliance members on Tuesday, March 29, at 12:00. This briefing will feature Congressman Jim McGovern, among other speakers, and is free for any Alliance members who wish to join us. Registration for the NAHC activities is not required as this is an independent event! This is a great opportunity to discuss our priority concerns with legislators and their staff members.
Please contact James Fuccione at HCA if you are interested in attending or have any questions.
Adult Day Health Advocacy Day
HCA is cosponsoring an event to oppose a devastating cut to Adult Day Health Services.
This special advocacy day will take place on March 22 from 11:00am to 12:00pm in the Gardner Auditorium of the State House. The proposed $55 million cut in MassHealth Adult Day Health spending from its fiscal year 2012 budget would eliminate the “Basic” level of service on July 1, 2011.
According to the Massachusetts Adult Day Health Services Association (MADSA), this would eliminate services for most program members in the state. The organization estimates that out of 11,500 ADH participants, only about 500 are in the “complex” category.
No registration is required for the event, but please let the Alliance know if you plan on attending.
Legislation Update
The Home Care Alliance’s legislative priorities have received bill numbers and assignments to the committees who will hold public hearings on the issues. Most bills are headed to the Joint Committee on Public Health with one exception: HCA’s home care omnibus bill, An Act Establishing Cost Avoidance Through Care at Home (CATCH), has been referred to the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing.
Stay tuned for when public hearings are announced by these committees so you can offer testimony and comments on these important issues.
Think Home Care Blog 
it is such a great honor if we advocate the rights of our elders nowadays.
With all the major federal policy issues facing the home health industry right now, effective advocacy on the national level is more critical than ever. so in their behalf we should do the work to make the lives of elders better!
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