New PHI Report Offers 50 Recommendations to the White House & Congress About Direct Care Workforce

PHI recently released a report, Federal Policy Priorities for the Direct Care Workforce, offering detailed federal policy recommendations to strengthen the direct care workforce across eight key areas: financing, compensation, training, workforce interventions, data collection, direct care worker leadership, equity, and the public narrative. COVID-19 put the direct care workforce in the spotlight more than ever before - reinforcing the value of these workers.

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In the report, PHI highlights the need for more data collection when it comes to the direct care workforce. In fact, it has been 12 years since the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services published a report calling for a minimum data set on the direct care workforce. HCAOA has an ongoing initiative focused on data and believes that our industry must consider standards that reflect and can substantiate the value of delivering personal care in people’s homes.

“HCAOA’s Data and Research Committee is in the process of developing a demonstration project that will have certain performance indicators, which will be collected to evaluate how home care can improve outcomes while decreasing health care costs. It’s only a matter of time before Medicaid will establish measures as well as Medicare Advantage plans that are now offering in-home support, so it makes sense for the industry to adopt standards before someone else does” said HCAOA Executive Director, Vicki Hoak. 

The report provides nearly 50 concrete recommendations for the White House, Congress, and key federal departments and agencies. It also includes recommendations for navigating and learning from COVID-19.

 Click here to download the report.  ​