Tougher building code penalties implemented in wake of deadly assisted living fire
By
Kimberly Bonvissuto
Nov 11, 2021
A new law implementing mandatory penalties for repeated building code violations was signed into law just months after a deadly assisted living fire in New York led to the deaths of a firefighter and a...
Class action suit blasts Washington state’s long-term care tax
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Nov 11, 2021
Opponents of a mandatory payroll tax to fund Washington state’s new long-term care program filed a class action lawsuit Tuesday in federal court. The measure aims to stop the January start of the payroll...
Michigan healthcare industry asks state for $650M to address staffing shortages
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Nov 10, 2021
Michigan’s Healthcare Workforce Sustainability Alliance is asking the Michigan legislature for $650 million to help offset staffing shortages. The funds would be directed toward rewarding current...
Washington state lawmakers re-examine LTC insurance program in wake of criticism
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Nov 02, 2021
The WA Cares program, designed to help Washington state residents pay for long-term care, will go into effect in January, but legislators have challenges to address in the meantime.
States, courts take actions that complicate vaccine mandate effects
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Nov 01, 2021
So far, courts across the country—all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court—have sided with state governments on imposed vaccine requirements. The justices declined Friday to even hear a case challenging...
3 states could lose ability to enforce workplace safety rules due to not protecting healthcare workers...
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Oct 21, 2021
The Labor Department put three states on notice that they could lose their authority to enforce their own workplace safety rules due to their refusal to adopt federal rules to protect healthcare workers...
Staff shortages lead to limits, holds on admissions: survey
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Oct 06, 2021
Nearly three-quarters of the respondents to a Pennsylvania Health Care Association member survey last month said they’ve had to limit or put on hold admissions within the past six months.
States navigate implementing COVID-19 vaccine requirements
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Oct 04, 2021
Today is the day that Connecticut’s long-term workers and other workers employed by the state are required to comply with a COVID-19 vaccine mandate or agree to regular testing. The deadline was postponed...
‘Esther’s Law’ a step closer to allowing cameras into Ohio long-term care residents’ rooms
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Sep 27, 2021
A bipartisan bill that would enable long-term care residents and their families to install remote monitoring equipment in their rooms had a hearing in the Ohio House of Representatives’ Families, Aging...
Thousands of Washingtonians look to opt out of long-term care insurance tax
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Sep 09, 2021
Washington state is set to launch next year the nation’s first publicly operated insurance program next year to help offset residents’ future long-term care costs, but not all workers are on board...