Fresh off the heels of the Department of Labor Standards’ decision to drop private-pay home care licensing, the state’s Division of Insurance is accepting comments on regulations related to long-term care insurance.
The Home Care Alliance offered oral and written testimony on proposed amendments to 211 CMR 65.00 at a public hearing on August 1st. The regulations aim to set new standards for long-term care insurance policies, rate setting and cost controls and creates various consumer protections.
More importantly for home care agencies, they propose that home care agencies must meet standards set by the Executive Office of Elder Affairs in order to be covered under long-term care insurance plans. Given the impending gap in state oversight with DLS’ new regulations, the fact that those agencies with elder services contracts represent a fraction of private pay home care agencies, and that many agencies relying on long-term care insurance do not work with Aging Service Access Points, the Alliance suggested the following measures:
- The Home Care Alliance’s Accreditation Program and unexpired DLS licenses should be placeholder requirements for long-term care insurance coverage until the state and advocates can pass meaningful licensure measures.
- Home Care Alliance Accreditation allows workers who are not home health aides/certified nursing assistants to provide certain services in the home and DOI’s regulations should reflect that flexibility.
- In the “sample definitions,” the Activities of Daily Living do not include “grooming and personal hygiene,” which is a traditional ADL and one that is vital to the well-being of people wishing to avoid facility-based care.
More details are available in the full copy of HCA’s comments, which can be obtained by contacting James Fuccione at the Alliance.
Those agencies or advocates wishing to comment have until 5:00pm on Friday, August 15th. Comments can be emailed to doidocket.mailbox@state.ma.us and the subject line should read “Docket No. G2014-0.”
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