As the demand for home care services continues to grow and reimbursement for services teeters in legislative and regulatory hands, the need for advocacy for our industry is paramount.
 
The Home Care Association of America actively monitors and advocates on behalf of our members in the home care industry. A significant portion of our budget retains lobbyists in multiple states and in our nation’s capitol for this very purpose.

Last Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released the 2022 National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers, the first-of-its-kind report to provide support to family caregivers.
 
HCAOA has pledged its full support to help execute the national strategy while also taking action of our own.

​Washington Gov. Jay Inslee recently announced that all remaining COVID-19 emergency proclamations and the state of emergency will end on October 31. 

HCAOA consulted a labor attorney on behalf of California member agencies regarding the California Home Care Services Consumer Protection Act, which requires the Department of Social Services (DSS) to provide the names, phone numbers, and addresses of new or renewing registered home care aides (HCAs) to labor unions upon request, unless the HCAs opt-out. 

​The opportunity for HCAOA members to take advantage of the discounted HCAOA Entrepreneur Academy closes this Friday, September 30! 

The Community Care Licensing Division’s (CCLD) Care Provider Management Bureau (CPMB) is holding a live webinar on September 28 from 10 – 11 a.m. PT to provide general information and training on the CCLD’s background check data system, Guardian. 

​Cheryl Schmitz, Deputy Executive Director of the VHA Geriatrics and Extended Care program, announced that the VA intends to increase funding for home care services by the 2025-26 budget cycle.  

Schmitz shared the news during a panel discussion on the Opportunities and Challenges in Medicaid, Medicare Advantage and VA-funded home care during the HCAOA Annual Leadership Conference last Monday. The panel discussion was moderated by Doug Robertson of Right at Home and featured Andy Friedell of healthAlign, Esme Grewal of BrightSpring Health Services, and Schmitz.

HCAOA and home care providers have expressed concern about the upcoming mandated $15-per-hour minimum wage for Medicaid workers that goes into effect on October 1, 2022.

HCAOA announces a new partnership with Alliance Risk Group, a full-service risk mitigation and background screening firm, to offer members convenient background investigation packages. 

State chapter meetings offer members and non-members important insight into issues impacting home care in their state. Mark your calendar and register to attend the following meetings!

​Last week the Home Care Association of America’s 2022 Annual Leadership Conference cast a vision for the future of home care and recognized three important individuals for their contributions to the home care industry. Attendees praised the quality of the speakers, networking, and great flow of the event.

The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) has preliminarily outlined a legislative and budget proposal for 2023 that may raise the licensure fee for home care aides to offset a historical deficit in funds in the home care aide and agency affiliated counselor regulatory programs.

The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) issued an important financial survey that could help home care and home health agencies gain future rate adjustments. 

​The nuances of today’s challenging staffing climate and steps providers are taking to improve their hiring and retention are among the information shared in a new survey and report done by Home Health Care News, in conjunction with AlayaCare.