Home Care Legislative Package Introduced in Senate for Workforce Training, Advancement Opportunities

​Last week, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) introduced three legislative proposals to improve the quality of home care by providing additional support and advancement opportunities for home care providers. HCAOA is scheduling a meeting to discuss the bills with Senator  King, since they will need to be reintroduced in January and we can have some input on any changes. 

---

Senator King’s proposals specifically aim to address shortcomings in training for home health workers and open new pathways for career advancement. 

The three bills would:

• Expand Medicaid’s Federal Medical Assistance Percentages (FMAP) to include training programs for home care workers. The Social Security Administration (SSA) currently has a 75% federal match for the training of medical personnel but the definition does not include training for home care workers. This legislation would expand the definition to allow for training programs for home care workers to be reimbursed. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Michigan) will be introducing companion legislation in the House of Representatives.
• Provide funding for both local governments and non-governmental agencies to expand existing training models that bring new home care workers into the industry. The Affordable Care Act allocated funding for the Personal and Home Care Aides State Training (PHCAST) program, which spurred the development of programs that focused on the upskilling of home care workers, but today, many lack funding to continue. 
• Establish funding to create projects that provide advancement opportunities for existing members of the home care workforce. The legislation would create funding through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to help individuals already working within the home healthcare field with opportunities to pursue increased education and training to facilitate career advancement. The program would be similar in structure to PHCAST, but would instead allocate funds for projects that focus on career ladder development. Additionally, the legislation would include an add-on payment through Medicare for those who complete the extra training.