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Proposed 2019 Budget Cuts CMS and ONC
The House Appropriations Committee has released a draft 2019 budget for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that proposes boosting the department by about $1 billion to $89.2 billion, but contains significant cuts for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC). […]
Read MoreHome and Community-Based Services Webinar Series on Promising State Approaches to Implementing Federal Criteria
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Administration for Community Living (ACL) have partnered with other national organizations to host a technical assistance webinar series highlighting innovative strategies and approaches states are taking to effectively implement the federal settings criteria for home and community-based services (HCBS). The webinar series is intended to help […]
Read MoreNAHC Urges House of Reps to Bring Back Committee on Aging
The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) has joined a coalition of like-minded organizations in urging the leadership of the House of Representatives to re-establish the House Select Committee on Aging (HSCoA). This would leave the House in alignment with the Senate, which already has a Special Committee on Aging. Now is the […]
Read MoreMaintenance Therapy is Critical, but Many in Home Health Know Little about it
NAHC, in conjunction with Kornetti and Krafft, present an important five-part webinar series on an area of great need in home care: Maintenance Therapy. Even before the case of Jimmo v Sebelius ruling, the issue of maintenance therapy was a component of the Medicare Part A Home Health Benefit. Still, home health agencies and their therapy staff have […]
Read MoreCall for Nominations to the NAHC Board of Directors
The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) is now seeking nominations for the two appointed positions to its Board of Directors in the 2020 election cycle. There is a third elected position this year, State Association that is filled through a separate process. NAHC is also calling for recommendations for the two appointed […]
Read MoreJoin the Fight for Home Health and Hospice at March on Washington
Register for March on Washington – it’s free! Join us March 23-24 in Washington, D.C. The 2020 election season has already begun and momentous decisions will be made by the American people this year. That’s why now is the best possible time for you to speak to those elected representatives to make the case that […]
Read MoreA Letter to Our Members: NAHC Will Be With You Through Coronavirus
Dear Members, The spread of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 has created a public health concern unlike any recent American experience. The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) must balance our duty to serve our members with concern for the health and safety of our staff. Accordingly, NAHC staff are now telecommuting from their […]
Read MoreSmall Business Loans are Available for Home Health & Hospice
The Small Business Administration (SBA) and Treasury Department have initiated a robust mobilization effort of banks and other lending institutions to provide small businesses with the capital they need. The CARES Act establishes a new $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program. The Program will provide much-needed relief to millions of small businesses so they can sustain […]
Read MoreThe Nation’s 4.5 Million Long-Term Care Workers Face an Elevated Risk of Coronavirus Infection Due to the Nature of Their Work. Who Are They?
The nation’s long-term care workers are disproportionately low wage employees, they tend to have direct and frequent contact with patients, and many are middle-aged or older, according to a new KFF analysis. That makes them a group that is at higher risk of coronavirus infection and generally less suited to weather the financial and physical trials […]
Read MoreCDC Expands its Definition of Who is at Risk for COVID Infection
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its coronavirus guidelines on Wednesday to significantly expand the population of people deemed to be at risk for infection. Anyone in “close contact” with an infected person is regarded as a person at risk for infection, but the CDC previously defined that as someone who spent […]
Read MoreReport: Change Medicare to Allow More Home Health, Fight COVID
https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2020/oct/medicare-home-health-taking-stock-covid-19-era Report calls for easing access, improving home health for older adults COVID-19 pandemic should prompt rethinking of health care for Medicare beneficiaries: OHSU co-author OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY Older adults have suffered disproportionately from the COVID-19 pandemic, with increased risk of severe illness and death reported across the globe. A new report argues […]
Read MoreHospices Contracting for Staff Under ‘Extraordinary Circumstances’
The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is updating previous guidance that a hospice agency must notify CMS of its use of contracted staff during extraordinary circumstances and submit justification for such use to its State Agency (SA) or CMS Location (previously Regional Office). Hospices must routinely provide substantially all core services directly by […]
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