Follow Up to National Home Care Advocacy Day - Veterans’ Affairs Committee Requests Rescoring of Dole Act Following Advocacy by HCAOA, Others

Advocacy efforts by HCAOA members have positively impacted legislation and regulations, as shared below. HCAOA asks members to continue sending messages to your U.S. Senator asking for their support to restore the home care section to the Elizabeth Dole Act. Click here to send your message.

HCAOA's Veterans' Affairs Advisory Council met with legislators and staffers on National Home Care Advocacy Day in March 2023.

​The power of advocacy was evident at National Home Care Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C., when Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee staff revealed to HCAOA members that they have requested the rescoring of the Elizabeth Dole Home Care Act (S 141). Senate VA staff members’ concerns began after HCAOA and several other organizations questioned the high cost estimate from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The high cost led the Senate VA Committee to amend the Act in mid-February 2023, eliminating the home care section of the bill.
 
Last year, the CBO estimated that increasing the limit for spending on non-institutional care (such as home care) from 65 percent to 100 percent of the cost of care within a VA facility would amount to an additional $24 billion expense over ten years. However, the estimate did not include any cost savings for avoiding a costly institutional placement, nor did it consider that only 500 veterans with complex medical needs would need additional home care services. HCAOA immediately sent a letter raising our concerns about the high CBO score to the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, along with many other veteran groups.
 
“This is a great example of the power of advocacy,” said HCAOA CEO Vicki Hoak. “When HCAOA, the Paralyzed Veterans Association and the Elizabeth Dole Foundation questioned the accuracy of the CBO score, people listened! We now wait for an accurate cost and ask that the Senate restore the home care section of the Elizabeth Dole Act to enable veterans to remain comfortably in their homes with the support of home care services.”
 
Thank you for joining us to advocate for home care. 

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