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HCAOA Signs on as Ally of Better Medicare Alliance
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Allyson Schwartz, President and CEO, Better Medicare Alliance
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HCAOA this week agreed to join the Better Medicare Alliance, a group of more than 140 ally organizations representing 400,000 beneficiaries that is dedicated to improving access to and quality of care covered by Medicare Advantage plans.
“Our number one priority is to find ways to help our members do business more effectively and more profitably,” said Vicki Hoak. “As more Medicare Advantage plans come to the table and offer coverage for personal home care services, our role as an Ally in the Better Medicare Alliance will allow us to make a stronger case to those insurers that home care is not just vital to the patient, but also a vector for cost savings across the health care system.”
An independent poll commissioned by Better Medicare Alliance late last year found that Medicare Advantage enjoys a 94% satisfaction rating among beneficiaries. Additional studies have found that MA saves beneficiaries an average of $1,276 a year compared to Traditional Medicare, and that it reduces preventable hospitalizations by 29% as compared to Traditional Medicare. Further, HCAOA’s own data suggests that home care services save employers a potential $13.4 billion in health care costs.
“The Home Care Association of America’s mission dovetails well with the work that Better Medicare Alliance and our supporters do each day. HCAOA is a tireless voice for quality home care, trusted by patients and caregivers alike. Similarly, Better Medicare Alliance advocates for the quality, affordable care that is uniquely available in Medicare Advantage,” said Allyson Y. Schwartz, President and CEO of the Better Medicare Alliance. “HCAOA’s partnership with Better Medicare Alliance comes as Medicare Advantage plans are increasingly offering new, innovative models to care for individuals with multiple health care needs, many of whom require assistance in the home. We share the belief that seniors deserve the opportunity to receive appropriate home-based care and recognize the important role played by home care aides in enabling seniors and people with disabilities to maintain the best quality of life in their homes.”
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AB-51 Nears Next Hurdle
Over the holidays, the U.S. District Court issued a temporary restraining order to stop the California Attorney General from enforcing AB 51. In issuing the order, U.S. District Court Judge Kimberly J. Mueller noted that “serious questions [exist] regarding whether [AB 51] is preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act.”
A further hearing on AB 51 is scheduled for January 10.
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HCAOA Arizona
Toni Brown, Special Investigator with the Securities Division of the Arizona Corporation Commission will provide remarks at our January 30th meeting. She will be speaking about her work with the Securities Division on financial exploitation of vulnerable adults, as well as overall current scams and means of exploitation for this population. She will also discuss ways for Caregivers to keep an eye out and report the actual or potential of these crimes occurring. At the end, she will do a Q & A session.
Date: January 30
Time: 11:30am MST
Location: Home Assist Health Office
3737 N 7th St Ste 203
Phoenix, Arizona 85014
Watch your inboxes for more information, including a registration link.
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HCAOA Connecticut
It's a New Decade - Learn the Latest on Issues Facing our Industry from HCAOA Connecticut.
Join the Home Care Association of America, Connecticut Chapter for an update on issues facing our industry on Thursday, January 23, 2020, at Elim Park (150 Cook Hill Rd, Cheshire, CT) from 11:30 a.m – 1:00 p.m. Topics discussed will include:
- State of the Industry
- Consumer protection in home care
- Reimbursement for providers
- Clarifications on noncompete agreements in home care
- Tax relief for home care
- HCAOA's opposition to registration of home care workers
What: HCAOA Connecticut Policy Luncheon
When: 11:30 a.m., Thursday, January 23
Where: Elim Park, 150 Cook Hill Rd., Cheshire, CT
Speakers:
Chapter President Chaim Gewirtzman
HCAOA Executive Director Vicki Hoak
HCAOA Connecticut Lobbyist Matthew Hallisey
Registration is free. Click here now to save your seat.
Participate in the HCAOA Connecticut Member Survey Today!
HCAOA Connecticut is surveying home care providers in Connecticut to identify some of the challenges they may be experiencing in offering home care services.
The survey will provide HCAOA Connecticut with important information to help the organization serve as a resource to members and advocate on their behalf. All survey results will be anonymous and kept strictly confidential and any information identifying a home care provider will not be compiled or released.
Some anonymous data and information may be used to support HCAOA Connecticut’s advocacy efforts with state officials and policy makers. Your feedback is valued and appreciated. Thank you for your participation. We will be raffling off a $100 VISA gift card as a thank you to those who completed the survey.
Deadline for responses is close of business, Friday January 17.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HCAOACT
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HCAOA Illinois
Join Us for Our January Chapter Meeting
Join the Illinois Chapter at our next meeting in Elmhurst on Tuesday, January 21. Watch your inbox for more details, including a meeting agenda.
Date: Tuesday, January 21
Time: 9:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Central
Location: Wilder Mansion, 211 S. Prospect Avenue, Elmhurst, IL 60126
Cost: Free for chapter members
Please be sure to register ahead of time.
Click here to register. If you have any questions, please contact Nataly Schwartz at nataly@hcaoa.org.
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HCAOA Washington
Policy Updates: 2020 Session to Include Medicare/Medicaid matching Rates
WAHCA Lobbyist Leslie Emerick has provided several updates on the state of current and pending issues facing the home care industry in Washington. You may read the full report here. A few highlights are as follows:
- Home Health Rates Methodology: SB 5828 regarding matching Medicare and Medicaid rates for home health did not pass during the 2019 legislative session, but we plan to re-run the bill in the 2020 legislative session. There was a workgroup established over the summer to discuss the issue and come up with solutions. There will be a Report to the Legislature in the near future on the workgroup deliberations and recommendations. Senator Cleveland has offered to continue sponsorship in the Senate, and Rep Tharinger will be the sponsor of a companion bill in the House.
- Adult Palliative Care Rules: Update: The recommendations of the Bree Collaborative Palliative Care Workgroup have recently been submitted to the Health Care Authority to incorporate into their palliative care rulemaking. The department will come up with a new draft to review after they see what is in the report, which is expected to arrive by the end of January 2020.
- Executive, Administrative, and Professional (“EAP” or “white collar”) exemptions from the Minimum Wage Act: The Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) released their employment rules that determine which workers in Washington are required by law to be paid at least minimum wage, earn overtime pay, and receive paid sick leave on Dec. 11, 2019.
The new rules use a formula based on the state minimum wage to determine the minimum salary a worker must receive to be exempt from overtime. The changes will be phased in starting July 1, 2020, and will be fully implemented by January 2028.
Beginning July 1, the state minimum salary threshold will increase to $675 a week ($35,100 a year) for all businesses, which is 1.25 times the state’s minimum wage. The threshold will increase incrementally until 2028 when it is expected to reach approximately $1,603 a week (about $83,356 a year) for an overtime exempt worker, 2.5 times the minimum wage.
You can learn more about the process to change the rules at www.Lni.wa.gov/OvertimeRulemaking.
Make Your Appointments for the WACHA In-Home Services Day January 28 in Olympia
For the past seven years the WA Home Care Association, Home Care Association of WA and the WA State Hospice and Palliative Care Organization have joined forces to meet with state legislators to discuss important issues for In-Home Services. We are all licensed under the Department of Health (DOH) In-Home Services program and in the real world, home health, hospice and home care agencies work cooperatively together all the time. Our associations typically have a very similar legislative agenda and legislators really appreciate the fact that we coordinate this day together instead of three different meetings! It’s also a fun way to get to know other in-homes services providers from around the state and in your region.
Please contact your local legislators ASAP and set up a meeting on January 28!! We are contacting legislators early this year because our legislative day is less than 3 weeks away! Here is a link to find out who your state legislators are with their contact information: http://app.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/. Please use your home address and not your business location as they want to meet with their constituents who live in their districts. You have 2 Representatives and 1 Senator from your legislative district. You can either call their office or send them an email request for an appointment. I often call and send a follow-up email.
Please schedule appointments to begin after 8:00 AM so that attendees can participate in the morning advocacy training activities. Some legislative assistants may ask for what you are going to talk about. Just explain to them what In-Home Services are (home health, hospice and home care) and we will be talking about issues related to these services.
Important!! Once you've made your legislative appointments, please send Leslie Emerick your appointment times at lesemerick@lkemerick.com and I will put your meeting on the master calendar. If you need additional assistance, please call 360-280-6142.
We will be in the Washington Library Room in the lower level of the Prichard Building. It’s a great room and we have it reserved until 2:00 pm.
Schedule for In-Home Services Day
7:00-8:00 AM: Welcome and Introductions (Coffee and muffins or bagels provided)
- Orientation, overview of Political Landscape
- Review In-Home Services 2020 Legislative Priorities/Song Sheet
- Review Handouts for Legislators
8:00 AM-4:00 PM
Legislative Visits Begin! Leslie will develop the legislative schedule as you begin to send her your appointment times. The constituent in the meeting should talk first about their agency and issues. Leslie always try to mix people from the three associations and regionally at a meeting if possible. It’s a great way to get to know your legislators and fellow in-home services providers. Rule number one: Be flexible and have fun! Wear comfortable walking shoes and dress semi-formally for meetings. It may be cold so dress appropriately for the weather.
Leslie will be sending a draft “Song Sheet for 2020” with talking points soon in case legislators assistants ask what you would like to talk about on that day. It may change as new bills are introduced and something comes up as a high priority for the group.
This may look overwhelming to the new participants, but don’t worry! We have a training in the morning to go over the talking points for the day and put you with more experienced attendees.
Please remember rule number one: Be flexible and have fun!
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Medicare Advantage and the CHRONIC Care Act
HCAOA staff were on Capitol Hill January 6th for a briefing focusing on supplemental benefits under Medicare Advantage and implementation of the Chronic Care Act, which was signed into law on February 9, 2018. The Act makes it possible for Medicare Advantage plans to offer supplemental benefits that are not defined as primarily health related, referred to as Special Supplemental Benefits for the Chronically Ill (SSBCI). These can include:
- Meals furnished to the enrollee
- Transportation for non-medical needs such as grocery shopping
- Pest control
- Indoor air quality equipment and carpet shampooing to reduce irritants
- Benefits to address social needs
- Capital or structural improvements, e.g., permanent ramps, and widening hallways or doorways
A staff member from Senator Mark Warner’s (D-VA) office spoke to the Senator’s ongoing commitment to address the long-term care needs of seniors, including access to home care and other support services. Senator Warner was a champion for the passage of the Chronic Care Act.
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Medicaid Expansion
The month of January marked the start of Medicaid expansion in two states after voters approved the policy by ballot initiatives in 2018. Idaho and Utah both began providing benefits through their versions of expansion on the first of this month, and Nebraska is expected to roll out its expansion later this year.
Idaho has reported lower enrollment numbers than expected since enrollment began in November. The state's weekly enrollment numbers, posted Jan. 2, found fewer than 54,000 had enrolled for coverage. The state had estimated that 91,000 adults were eligible. Idaho's number could increase, since the state has year-round enrollment.
Under Medicaid expansion, adults earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, or about $17,000 per year for a single person, can receive coverage. Utah's program also includes work requirements. Idaho is awaiting federal approval to include its own 20-hour-a-week work requirements.
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Supreme Court and the Affordable Care Act
On January 3, 2019, a coalition of Democratic state officials asked the Supreme Court to quickly hear an appeal of a lawsuit challenging the 2010 health care law this term and rule by June, in the heat of this year's political campaigns.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra led a coalition of 18 other Democratic state attorneys general, the District of Columbia and Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear in appealing a December ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that struck down the health care law’s so-called “individual mandate.” The New Orleans-based three-judge panel remanded other questions, namely how much of the rest of the law should fall, back to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
The officials argued that a prolonged legal battle over the health care law would cause significant uncertainty in the health insurance marketplaces. Texas and other conservative attorneys general are arguing the entire law should fall after the 2017 Republican tax overhaul zeroed out the penalty for not having health insurance coverage, which the Supreme Court previously cited as a reason to uphold the health care law.
If the Supreme Court does consider the case this year, it could become a major issue in the presidential election and in congressional races. The Trump administration has called for the entire law to be invalidated, but said it expects the law to remain in effect until an eventual Supreme Court decision.
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Senator Mark Warner (D-VA)
Senator Mark Warner was a key champion for passage of the Chronic Care Act in 2018, and is a key member of the important Senate Finance Committee.
Warner is a bit too young to be called a senior statesman, but he has had a long and mostly successful career in Virginia and national politics. It stretches back to his work in 1980 as a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee and his management of the 1989 campaign that made L. Douglas Wilder Virginia’s chief executive and the nation’s first elected black governor.
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After serving as governor himself from 2002 to 2006, Warner briefly sought the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, making exploratory forays to Nevada and New Hampshire before deciding to run instead for the Senate. He easily defeated another ex-governor, Republican Jim Gilmore.
But six years later, Republican Ed Gillespie came within a whisker of beating Warner, falling short by less than one percent of the vote.
Warner made his fortune as an early investor in cellular company Nextel and he remains alert to changes in economic and social patterns and their implications for government finances.
Warner was born in Indiana. His father was an insurance safety inspector, his mother was a homemaker, and both parents were Republicans. His father’s job eventually took the family to Connecticut.
Warner was the valedictorian of his 1977 George Washington University class. During school, he worked for Sen. Abraham Ribicoff, a Connecticut Democrat. Warner earned a degree from Harvard Law School in 1980, but never hung out his shingle. After working briefly for Ribicoff’s successor, Democrat Christopher J. Dodd, and as a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee, he started ventures in energy and real estate, then struck it rich with telecommunications company Nextel.
He stayed active in Democratic politics and was state party chairman from 1993 to 1995.
Warner ran for the Senate in 1996, spending $10 million of his fortune in a campaign against Republican incumbent John W. Warner (no relation). His close loss helped lay the groundwork for his 2001 election as governor.
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Home Care Association of America
444 N. Capitol Street NW, Suite 397, Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 800-22-HCAOA Email: info@hcaoa.org Website: www.hcaoa.org
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