New Study on Insuring Direct-Care Workers

The Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute (PHI) released a report, prepared in collaboration with Tufts University Department of Health and Family Medicine, on the impact of Massachusetts health care reform on direct-care workers.

The report offers three main conclusions:

  1. The employer-based health insurance system is not meeting the needs of employers or their direct-care staff, largely because the current price of private health insurance in Massachusetts is prohibitive for many employers and their workers.
  2. As a result, public and publicly subsidized insurance programs are essential to this sector.
  3. Reform measures appear to have strengthened subsidized options for both employers and direct-care staff. However, access to these options is far from seamless, sometimes leading to “perverse” employment outcomes. For example, to qualify for MassHealth or Commonwealth Care workers often reduce their hours worked. Similarly, employers may limit eligibility for health benefits to those who work full-time, but then offer employees only part-time hours. These disincentives to work are particularly problematic for the home care industry, which is one of the Commonwealth’s fastest-growing employment sectors.

For more information, read the PHI report here.

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.

Alliance Members Win Globe Award

Alliance members Community Nurse and Hospice Care, Inc of Fairhaven and Aviv Centers For Living were named to the Boston Globe’s list of  “Top 100 Places to Work” in Massachusetts.  Award winners were selected from 1,000 potential employers, 86,000 employee surveys and a measurement process that examined direction, management, working conditions, pay and benefits,  and career opportunities.  Aviv Centers, located in Swampscott,  provides a continuum of long term care services that includes private home care services.  Community  Nurse provides home health services across Southeastern Mass.  Also included were home care parent companies Winchester Hospital,  Hallmark Health Systems and Partners Health Care and Alliance Allied members Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Benchmark Assisted Living.

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2010 PPS Rates Finalized: Alliance Calculates Local Rates

CMS posted the final rule on Medicare Home Health PPS rates for 2010 to the web on Friday, October 30, 2009.  Compared to the proposed rates released in July, the final rule lowers the market basket adjustment from 2.2% to 2.0%, which lowers the national standard episode rate to $2,312.94.  The final rule also makes small adjutments to the regional wage index to reflect updated hospital wage data.

The Alliance has prepared a spreadsheet of all HHRG rates for each geographic area in MA.

The final rule also delays for six months the requirement that agencies survey patients using the standard HHCAHPS satisfaction tool.

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.

November is National Home Care Month: Help Us Raise Awareness

The Home Care Alliance is pleased to join the many agencies, organizations, and advocates across the state and country in celebrating National Home Care Month.

In working to raise awareness of the services provided to patients in their homes, the Alliance is also promoting the cost effectiveness of home health care, which helps people remain independent in their communities, and stepping up advocacy efforts.

You can help us raise awareness by using some of the materials provided below, including a press release and promotional posters provided by the National Association for Home Care & Hospice.

~SAMPLE PRESS RELEASE~

[Agency] Celebrating National Home Care Month
Month-Long Campaign in Motion Across the Country to Raise Awareness of Home Care

(Town), MA – [Agency] is joining home care and home health providers across the state and country this November to mark National Home Care Month and, with an intense focus on state and national health care reform, [Agency] is working to raising awareness of the services they provide as a cost effective solution to help improve care delivery.

“We are very proud of our work that enables patients to remain in the most comfortable and familiar setting: their own homes,” said [agency director]. “[Agency] is honored to help patients remain independent and close to their loved ones.”

Nationally, more than 11 million Americans receive home health care, according to the National Association for Home Care & Hospice. In Massachusetts, more than 150 member agencies of the Home Care Alliance provide over 5 million home care visits each year to approximately 175,000 elderly, mentally ill and otherwise infirm Massachusetts residents.

Through technological advances, home-delivered health care has grown far beyond basic professional nursing and home care aide services. Today’s modern home care agency offers a wealth of services from nursing, physical, occupational, respiratory and speech therapies to counseling, dietary, telehealth (remote patient monitoring) and personal care services.

“So many emerging health care reform efforts play to our member agency strengths,” said Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts Executive Director Patricia Kelleher. “Efforts at reducing readmission rates to hospitals and new state programs aimed at managing chronic illnesses can look to us for help and support.”

The cost efficiency of home care was recently proven in a study by the national research firm Avalere Health (May 11, 2009). Their research found that home health use saves Medicare dollars by reducing hospitalizations and nursing home stays. Based on their findings, an estimated $30 billion could be saved nationally over the next ten years by expanding access to home health for chronic disease patients.

To find out more about home care and National Home Care month, visit www.thinkhomecare.org.

Posters:

~In Memory of Sen. Kennedy

~Honoring the Caregiver

~Preserving Independence and Freedom

~No Place Like Home

~Compassionate Care Delivered to Your Doorstep

The National Association for Home Care & Hospice also lists other ideas on how to celebrate National Home Care Month here.

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.

Home Health Agency is Finalist for BCBS of MA Quality Award

Visiting Nurse Association of Middlesex-East and Visiting Nurse Hospice was honored as a finalist  for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts’ Annual Health Care Excellence Award.  The VNA was recognized for reducing its re-hospitalization rate from 29% to 17% within two years – the lowest in the state – despite caring for an aging population that increasingly struggles with chronic conditions such as stroke, diabetes, emphysema, heart disease, and hypertension. This accomplishment has significantly reduced health care costs while improving the quality of life for their patients.

Also recognized as a finalist was EMC Corporation, an international leader in Information Infrastructure solutions.   EMC was recognized for its Partners in Health program, which successfully engaged its workforce and their families in learning how individual behaviors, choices and attitudes influence overall health and  health care expenditures, waste and outcomes.

This year’s award winner was Health & Education Services, Inc. (HES), a community-based behavioral health care network in northeastern Massachusetts. HEIS was selected for exceptional achievement in improving the safety and effectiveness of health care in Massachusetts through its Health Access and Integration Program (HAIP).

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.

Overview of Public Option Proposals in Health Reform

With a renewed focus on the inclusion of the public option in national health reform efforts, CNN.com offers an overview that compares general proposals relative to government-operated health insurance.

See CNN.com’s “Public Option Fuels Debate” here.

To read more on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s plan and reaction to it, check these stories by:

The Associated Press, MSNBC, and the New York Times Politics Blog

 

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.

 

New Advocacy Message Available: Keep Care in the Community

Please visit our Legislative Action Center where the Alliance has posted a new message to Governor Deval Patrick and his administration.

The message, titled “Governor: Please Keep Care in the Community” points out the fact that home health agencies and VNA’s are still dealing with the cuts from last year and could not survive any further reductions.

The Alliance has already sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary JudyAnn Bigby, Assistant Secretary Jean McGuire and their staff regarding Governor Deval Patrick’s announcement that Massachusetts is facing a $600 million shortfall. Among the Governor’s “five-point” plan for addressing the gap involves laying off 2,000 state employees and management furloughs, consolidating state agencies wherever possible, calling unions to the table, and calling for legislative action on the Governor’s municipal relief package to mitigate cuts to local aid.

Please help us advocate by sending your own message to the Governor.

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.

Health Care Reform Breakfast, Part III

Join other Alliance members, along with Tim Rowan, editor of Home Care Technology Report and representatives of the Massachusets eHealth Collaborative and Information Technology Committee for a discussion of the new federal and state goals around electronic health records, and other health IT issues of interest to post acute and long term care providers.  This event is on November 5th at the Radission Hotel in Boston and it is free; but preregistration is required.

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.

VNA of Boston Names New President-CEO

The following is an announcement from the Visiting Nurse Association of Boston:

VISITING NURSE ASSOCIATION OF BOSTON & AFFILIATES NAMES NEW PRESIDENT & CEO
Reynold G. Spadoni to Lead the Nation’s Oldest Home Healthcare Organization

BOSTON — The Visiting Nurse Association of Boston & Affiliates (VNAB), the oldest home healthcare organization in the country and one of the largest in New England has recently named Reynold G. Spadoni as President and Chief Executive Officer.

John Murphy, Chairman of the VNAB’s board of directors, expressed confidence in Spadoni’s ability to lead the agency’s comprehensive home health programs.

“Rey has extensive experience in the health care arena, including several leadership positions in public health, managed care, community health centers and hospitals.” said Murphy, “Rey is a highly respected leader with a strong sense of mission and ethics. He has demonstrated a keen eye for expanding programs and creating new opportunities while maintaining focus on quality patient care.  I know that the organization, our patients, their families and the community will benefit from his tremendous skills.”

“I’m extremely pleased and honored to join an organization with such a rich history of serving patients and families throughout Eastern Massachusetts.” said Spadoni, “VNAB’s mission, track record and exceptional staff are compelling and vital during this time of great change in our industry and I’m thrilled to have been given this opportunity.”

Spadoni joins the organization from his role as Vice President of Operations and Development at Atrius Health/Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates.

Spadoni has a career that spans more than 25 years working in various leadership roles in the health care industry. He previously held senior management positions at Quincy Medical Center, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Dimock Community Health Center, Ernst and Young and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

In his new role, Spadoni assumes overall responsibility for administration of the Visiting Nurse Association of Boston & Affiliates, which includes end-of-life support through VNA Hospice Care and private pay services through VNA Private Care.

The VNAB is one of the largest home healthcare agencies in New England with more than 500 employees and an operating budget of $44 million.  In 2008, it provided 250,000 home care visits to more than 12,000 patients.  Spadoni has a B.A. from Holy Cross College and an M.B.A. from Boston University.

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.

Boston Globe Letter to the Editor: PCA Oversight Bears Addressing

For the second time in a year, the Boston Globe has reported on fraud and abuse uncovered in the personal care attendant program based on a study by the state auditor’s office.

In a letter to the editor, the Home Care Alliance chose to reiterate a point in the article for readers that personal care attendants (PCA’s) are not subject to background checks and certification requirements as home health aides and visiting nurses. The prior article blurred the line between the two categories of workers, to which the Alliance had also taken action by submitting a letter to the Globe.

Return to www.thinkhomecare.org.