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The Connecticut Department of Social Services (DSS) is actively conducting audits of Medicaid providers, including non-medical providers. Home care agencies are advised to conduct routine self-audits to ensure compliance and act quickly to respond to preliminary audit findings and penalties.
Jonah Francis, president and owner of Pansy Homecare Services, LLC. in West Hartford and vice chair of the HCAOA Connecticut Chapter, and Matthew Hallisey, managing principal of Matthew Hallisey Government Affairs, LLC in Glastonbury, and lobbyist and government relations consultant for the Chapter, were featured guests on Face CT this past weekend. WTIC-AM 1080 Morning Drive News Anchor and Integrated Content Manager Morgan Cunningham interviewed the Chapter representatives, who discussed home care for seniors aging in place, public policy related to home care the General Assembly is expected to consider in the session beginning February 7, the role of HCAOA in shaping policy, and the status of the transition of regulation and oversight of the home care industry from the Department of Consumer Protection to the Department of Public Health.
The Yale School of Medicine has been awarded $250,000 from the Humana Foundation to study mental health among primary caregivers for people living with dementia. The goals are to determine whether advance care planning positively impacts caregivers and patients and to develop tools to facilitate meaningful communication to make this happen.
Beginning in March, a new vendor is scheduled to start as the state’s new fiscal intermediary for operating payroll processing for self-directed personal care attendants and home care workers funded through the Department of Social Services. GT Independence of Michigan was awarded a three-year, $126 million contract to take over for Allied Community Services, a nonprofit based in Enfield.
This week, HCAOA teamed up with the Connecticut Association for Health Care at Home for an important discussion about the safety of home care workers following the recent murder of a home health nurse in a client’s home. Pamela Hunter, Ph.D., CSP, Senior Loss Control Consultant from Workers’ Compensation Trust provided information about workplace safety management and de-escalation training. Safety is such an important issue for all home care providers, so HCAOA is making this valuable session available to all members.
A must-attend webinar for every HCAOA Connecticut member on December 4 at 12:00 p.m. ET where Pamela Hunter, Ph.D., CSP, Senior Loss Consultant at WC Trust, will discuss Workplace Violence: Management Training & Safety Controls followed by Q&A. Gain insights into basic de-escalation techniques vital for diffusing potentially violent situations and ensuring caregiver safety.
Register here. Connecticut’s Office of Long Term Care Ombudsman announced recently that the community ombudsman program will officially begin taking referrals this winter to advocate on behalf of individuals who receive long-term services and support. The office is committed to “enhancing the quality of life and care for Connecticut citizens residing in various community settings [and] plays a crucial role in addressing concerns, advocating for improvements, and ensuring the rights and well-being of those it serves.” Effective June 1, 2023, the Connecticut Department of Social Services, in response to the increase in the minimum wage, is retroactively increasing rates by 4.9% for several Home and Community-Based waiver service providers, the Department announced in a policy bulletin on September 29. (The increase supersedes one that was issued last summer and was effective July 1, 2023.) The programs include the Connecticut Home Care Program for Elders and Personal Care Assistance.
On Monday, Governor Ned Lamont announced that beginning on Jan. 1, 2024, Connecticut’s minimum wage will increase from the current rate of $15.00 per hour to $15.69 per hour as a result of the state’s first-ever economic indicator adjustment. The newly enacted adjustment is required under Public Act 19-4, which implemented five incremental increases in the minimum wage between 2019 and 2023, followed by future adjustments that are tied to the percentage change in the federal employment cost index (ECI). Last Thursday, the HCAOA Connecticut Chapter hosted state Department of Consumer Protection officials for an informational session with members to discuss two new state laws regulating the home care industry. Beginning October 1, 2023, Public Act 23-48 expressly allows homemaker-companion agencies to use the word “care” in their business names and advertising and advertise having employees trained to provide services to people with memory difficulties, if certain requirements are met. Additionally, Public Act 23-99 expands disclosure requirements for HCAs, such as HCAs providing the name of the caregiver in writing to the client before she enters the client’s home and when an agency changes service rates and ceases operations. |
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