WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 21, 2020)—The National Association for Home Care & Hospice announced full support of the COVID-19 Emergency Manufacturing Act, a bicameral bill introduced by Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) in the Senate and Rep.
legislation
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (March 19, 2019)—President Donald Trump signed HR 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act into law yesterday. The bill responds to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) by providing paid sick leave and free coronavirus testing expanding food assistance and unemployment benefits, and requiring employers to provide additional protections for health care workers.
Beneficiary Enrollment Notification and Eligibility Simplification Act of 2019 HR 2477/S 1280
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (March 13, 2020)—A bipartisan coalition in Congress has introduced the Preserving Patient Access to Home Infusion Act, legislation designed to ensure Medicare patients have access to Part B home infusion medications.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (March 11, 2020)—A new piece of legislation could put a financial burden on home health agencies. The bill, introduced by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee, and Sen.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 18, 2019)—Provisions permanently excluding manual complex rehab technology (CRT) wheelchairs from the competitive bidding program have been included in FY 2020 appropriations legislation. The legislation also exempts CRT manual accessories from bidding-derived pricing for an 18-month period, starting Jan. 1, 2020.
Homecare is a quickly changing landscape
WASHINGTON, D.C. (October 30, 2019)—On Oct. 28, the House of Representatives approved HR 647, the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act (PCHETA), legislation that would make improvements in the training, education and provision of palliative and hospice care. The National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) has advocated for passage of this bill since it was introduced.
Preparing for revenue shortfalls before the new billing mandate
CHICAGO (October 11, 2019)—As we kick off Breast Cancer Awareness month, Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), lead sponsor for S.562, the Breast Cancer Patient Equity Act, visited Second Act Mastectomy Boutique in Chicago to meet with breast cancer survivors.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 23, 2019)—The House of Representatives Veterans Affairs committee held a hearing on September 11 on H.R. 1527, the Long-Term Care Veterans Choice Act, a bill to expand access to homecare for veterans and help keep them out of institutional settings.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 20, 2019)—With the CB Round 2021 bid window closing Wednesday, The American Association for Homecare (AAHomecare) hopes to rally suppliers and other HME stakeholders to resume advocacy on HME policy priorities, including extending and expanding relief for non-bid rural suppliers (HR 2771), CRT-related legislation (HR 2293, S 1223, and HR 2408), and expected legislation on non-invasive ventilators in competitive bidding.
Legislative efforts and new tools coming
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 11, 2019)—Efforts to protect access to manual complex rehab technology (CRT) wheelchairs and accessories took another step forward today as the Health Subcommittee of the House Energy & Commerce Committee approved HR 2328, the "Reauthorizing and Extending America's Community Health Act'' (REACH Act). The bill includes similar language to HR 2293, legislation that AAHomecare and other mobility stakeholders have been supporting since its introduction in April.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 20, 2019)—New bipartisan legislation has been introduced in both the United States Senate and House of Representatives that would grant occupational therapists the authority to open home health cases. Under current law, only nurses, physical therapists and speech language pathologists can open a home health case by performing the patient assessment.
HARTFORD, Conn. (June 13, 2019)—A line item in the Connecticut state budget is causing concern for the state’s homecare agencies. If passed, Section 305 would ban noncompete and nonsolicitation clauses between homecare agencies and caregivers. The provision would apply only to homemaker, companion or home health services.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 9, 2019)—On Wednesday, May 8, a bill to prevent the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) rate cuts was introduced in the House of Representatives, an important priority for the home health community and something advocates from the National Association of Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) have been working on.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 2, 2019)—New legislation to establish a separate benefit for complex rehab technology (CRT) wheelchairs under Medicare has been introduced in the House. H.R. 2408, sponsored by Reps.