 After removing a ban on health care terms in home care agency business names and advertising, the legislature’s General Law Committee approved House Bill 6100 yesterday. The bill requires, among other things, local and national criminal background checks of caregivers, including a search of a multistate criminal record locator by a consumer reporting agency or accredited background screening company. The Department of Consumer Protection agreed to remove the names and advertising provisions after HCAOA Connecticut and many individual HCA owners vigorously opposed them. The bill goes to the House of Representatives for further consideration. HCAOA Connecticut members can discuss this bill and other priorities affecting home care in meetings with their lawmakers at Home Care Days at the Capitol next month.
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 On March 12, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation providing all public and private employees in New York up to four hours of paid leave per vaccine injection to obtain a COVID-19 vaccine. The new law, which adds a new Section 159-c to the New York Civil Service Law and a new Section 196-c to the New York Labor Law, provides that the paid COVID-19 vaccination leave may not be charged against any other leave that the employee is entitled to, such as any paid sick leave or any leave provided under a collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The law, which expires by its terms on December 21, 2022, requires that employers provide a “sufficient period of time,” up to four hours, to be paid at the employee’s regular rate of pay, for each COVID-19 vaccine injection. read more
 The Home Care Association of America (HCAOA) congratulates Xavier Becerra on his Senate confirmation for the position of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary.  Acting in preparation of the potential extension of the federal tax deadline, Senator Paul Sarlo, the chairman of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, introduced legislation (S-3564) that would extend the filing and payment deadline for state taxes as well. Now that the American Rescue Plan was signed by President Biden, the IRS could be acting to extend the April 15 deadline to May 15, 2021 and New Jersey should be prepared to align the schedules, Senator Sarlo said. Senator Sarlo also expressed concern about senior citizens who are most at risk from COVID-19, and often require assistance in preparing their returns and may not have access to or familiarity with internet services.  The Illinois Department of Public Health launched the Vaccine Appointment Call Center to assist people who do not have access to or who have difficulty navigating online services in making appointments to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. As Illinois begins to receive significantly more vaccine from the federal government and appointments become more widely available, this call center will be critical in bridging the digital divide and ensuring the vaccine reaches all communities. read more
 Yesterday, HCAOA’s Legislative Committee met to discuss federal and state legislative issues impacting home care organizations across the country.
Congress passed the American Rescue Plan last week. One aspect of this bill especially important to the home care industry is the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) increase to 10 percent for states to make improvements to Medicaid home and community-based services. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will be holding a webinar on April 7 to talk more about this increase. CMS will send out guidelines to states in regard to the FMAP soon.  Last week’s episode of the Post-Acute POV podcast, hosted by Navin Gupta, SVP of Home Care and Hospice, MatrixCare, featured HCAOA Executive Director, Vicki Hoak, to present a state of the union for home care and an update on where Gupta and Hoak see the industry headed in 2021. You can listen to the episode here.  Last week, in the case of HCAOA v. Newsom, the association’s challenge to AB 2455, the judge upheld the law. This is a California law which compels disclosure of registered home care aides’ personal contact information to requesting labor unions for the express purpose of organizing.  HCAOA has another free resource for our members! Check out the upcoming Agency Momentum webinar on April 21, “Learning How to Create Value Through Predictive Analytics.” Did you know that research shows collaboration between clinical and personal care providers can unlock lower-cost, higher-value care, especially for patients with chronic conditions? Data is the bridge that delivers vital population- and patient-level insights to clinicians at the point of care, so they can make informed, individualized clinical care decisions to provide better care and improve outcomes.
 The Department of Consumer Protection has agreed to withdraw from House Bill 6100 its proposed ban on home care agencies using any terms in advertising that describe services related to health care that require a license, such as memory support or Alzheimer’s and dementia care. HCAOA Connecticut and many individual HCAs vigorously opposed the ban, arguing in testimony and to lawmakers and department officials that agencies should be allowed to communicate accurate information to prospective clients and families that they offer various services, including non-medical memory support that ensures a safe and healthy environment in the elderly person’s home. The Department continues to assert that existing law provides authority to ban such advertising. The ban on use of such terms in business names of HCAs applying for a new registration has not been withdrawn. HCAOA Connecticut members can discuss this bill and other priorities affecting home care in appointments with their lawmakers at its Lobby Day next month.
 The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment issued revisions to the Wage Protection Rules, 7 CCR 1103-7, relating to Colorado employers’ paid sick leave obligations under the Healthy Families and Workplaces Act (HFWA). The HFWA requires Colorado employers to provide at least 48 hours of paid sick and safe leave each year on either an accrual basis based on hours worked or frontloaded annually. read more Enrollment in private Medicare Advantage health plans is steadily increasing and benefit packages are evolving. For the third year, plans are allowed to offer non-medical supplemental benefits including in-home support services and adult day care. Where are these benefits being offered across the country and what do these benefits mean today for your organization and clients? Is there a longer-term opportunity to consider?
Do you still have questions about the COVID-19 vaccine? HCAOA teamed up with the Black Coalition Against COVID-19 and Blackdoctor.org to sponsor an informative and engaging town hall that can be shared with direct care workers, residents and the public to tackle the difficult issues surrounding vaccinations for coronavirus. The Town Hall featured senior leadership from the White House, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and a variety of nationally recognized experts including physicians from Meharry and Morehouse medical schools. HCAOA urges members to share this video with your caregivers.
 The Home Care Association of America (HCAOA) California Chapter received confirmation that a temporary workaround to the new Guardian system has been approved. Guardian is a new electronic data system, designed to streamline the background check process for all licensed care, including the TrustLine Registry, Home Care Aide Registry and Community Care Licensing staff.  On February 25, 2021, Wisconsin enacted a new law designed to help reduce ambiguity regarding COVID-19-related liability. The statute, which became effective on February 27, 2021, gives certain entities broad immunity from civil liability related to COVID-19 unless they acted recklessly or engaged in wanton conduct or intentional misconduct. Read more The immunity applies to lawsuits filed after February 27, 2021, asserting claims that accrued on or after March 1, 2020. The immunity is in addition to any other applicable immunities that may be provided by law. Importantly, the immunity applies not only to employers with respect to workplace incidents of COVID-19, but also in many other contexts, including, for example, COVID-19-related lawsuits against long-term care providers (e.g., by their patients and/or patients’ families), retail establishments (e.g., by their customers), and universities (e.g., by their students). read more
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