The Act would require Medicare to cover the full cost of equipment medically necessary for those who are at-risk in the event of a climate disaster
legislation
WASHINGTON—U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Tim Scott (R-SC) joined by U.S. Reps.
Increasing Medicaid funding for HCBS
The Innovation in Aging Act, S 3473
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 22, 2022)—The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through its Administration for Community Living, released the 2022 National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers. It highlights nearly 350 actions the federal government will take to support family caregivers in the coming year and more than 150 actions that can be adopted at other levels of government and across the private sector to build a system to support family caregivers.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (July 15, 2022)—The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) is planning to bring legislation that would freeze reimbursement rates for five years, Calvin McDaniel, the organization’s director of government affairs, said in a webinar hosted by Polsinelli.
WASHIGNTON, D.C. (April 28, 2022)—Legislation has recently been introduced that would work to improve the Medicare enrollment process for individuals nearing Medicare eligibility, aged 60-64. Longtime homecare champions Sens. Bob Casey (D-Pennsylvania) and Todd Young (R-Indiana) are leading the charge for the Beneficiary Enrollment Notification and Eligibility Simplification 2.0 (BENES 2.0) Act, (S. 2675).
HR 3322/S 826—The Medicare Patient Empowerment Act of 2021
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 25, 2022)—The bipartisan Hospital Inpatient Services Modernization Act is new legislation introduced in both the Senate and House of Representatives that would extend the acute care hospital at home waiver program. Initially introduced in November 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE), the program provides an alternative setting of care for certain conditions, such as asthma, pneumonia and COPD.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 24, 2022)—In a letter urging Congressional leaders to stave off a financial calamity that could harm older adults, Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO of LeadingAge, the association of nonprofit providers of aging services, called for the continuation of the Medicare “sequestration holiday”—as well as continued and expanded Provider Relief Funds (PRF) to support aging services providers hard hit by continued COVID-19-related expenses.
Legislation is the best route to securing realistic Medicare reimbursement rates
WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 25, 2022)—As the omicron death rate escalates and weakens the nation’s capacity to provide care for millions of endangered older Americans, the national organization representing America’s nonprofit providers of aging services, including nursing homes, called on the president to work with Congress on a six-point package of emergency relief.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (January 13, 2022)—A subgroup of the Breast Pump Policy Coalition has engaged lobbyists in Illinois to assist with repealing the sales tax for breast pumps. State Sen. Barbara Hernandez introduced H.B. 4234 which would allow breast pumps, breast pump collection and storage supplies, and breast pump kits to be exempt from the taxes imposed beginning on July 1, 2022.
CONNECT for Health Act of 2021, S. 1512
WASHINGTON, D.C (October 15, 2021)—As the population ages and more people live longer with greater disability and disease, policymakers are increasingly motivated to build out the palliative care infrastructure so that more patients and families can access these vital services that address the stress and symptoms of serious illness.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 13, 2021)—Ninety-five members of the House of Representatives have joined a Congressional sign-on letter urging the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to finalize the durable medical equipment (DME) rule and extend the 50/50 blended rates for suppliers serving rural areas.
Washington, D.C. (October 8, 2021)—The Choose Home Care Act of 2021 has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. Introduced by Reps. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) and James Comer (R-Kentucky), the bipartisan legislation is designed to increase access to home health care following hospitalization for eligible Medicare beneficiaries by offering a safe, high-quality post-acute option for nursing home level services in the home.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 21, 2021)—The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) has joined a group of like-minded organizations to tell Congress to support existing bipartisan, bicameral legislation that would ensure Medicare beneficiaries have access to intravenous (IV) medications in the comfort of their own homes.