​“There is general uncertainty of what happens next,” wrote a New York Times reporter yesterday morning. First, there is the vote needed to increase the debt ceiling, which many are saying is necessary in order for the U.S. to pay its debts, and then, of course, the other hot potatoes are the infrastructure bill and the $3 Trillion plus social safety net plan. ​

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HCAOA invites all home care members in Michigan to attend a Chapter Meeting and Capitol Day in Lansing on November 3. Hear the latest federal and state updates on issues affecting home care, and meet in small groups with legislators to educate them about home care and tell them what matters to our agencies, clients, and caregivers. ​

HCAOA Associate Member AxisCare announced yesterday that their software platform is now EVV-compliant in 23 states, with nine others coming soon. To spearhead the company’s Medicaid efforts, the company also announced it has hired Mark Decker as Director of Medicaid Services to expand AxisCare’s reach in other states and improve workflows for current Medicaid clients.

Yesterday, the California Department of Social Services issued a Provider Information Notice alerting home care organizations that all registered home care aides must be vaccinated against COVID by November 30. However there are two exemptions to this rule: Declining vaccination based on religious beliefs or excused from receiving the vaccine due to qualifying medical reasons. 

​The Connecticut legislature, at the recent call of Governor Ned Lamont, met in special session this week to extend the Governor’s emergency authority through February 15, 2022. This was the sixth extension of the Governor’s emergency powers since March 2020, according to the Hartford Courant. Most of the hundreds of executive orders issued by the Governor since then have expired but about a dozen remain, including one requiring vaccinations for workers in nursing homes and long-term care facilities.

​A new report, Medicaid Forward: Long-term Services and Supports, from the National Association of Medicaid Directors, describes the stark realities facing our long-term care system, and opportunities for state Medicaid leaders and their federal partners to respond. The report specifically focuses on how states can use the recent investments Congress made in the American Rescue Plan Act to support this work. In this law, Congress made an initial investment of more than $9 billion to expand access to home- and community-based services and to strengthen the direct care workforce.