GAO to CMS: Keep a closer eye on HCBS programs during pandemic
By
Diane Eastabrook
Sep 14, 2021
The General Accounting Office is recommending the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services pay closer scrutiny to temporary changes to home-and-community-based services during public health emergencies...
Senior living industry pushes infrastructure agenda during budget talks
By
Kimberly Bonvissuto
Aug 27, 2021
As legislative committees work on how to divvy up the $3.5 trillion approved by the House of Representatives earlier this week in the fiscal year 2022 budget resolution, the senior living and care industry...
Senate takes first major step in boosting home care economy with passage of budget blueprint
By
Diane Eastabrook
Aug 12, 2021
Hopes for sweeping support to the care economy got a boost early Wednesday when the Senate passed a $3.5 trillion budget blueprint that would potentially boost the pay of homecare workers, provide billions...
Kaiser study finds severe workforce shortages challenging HCBS providers
By
Diane Eastabrook
Aug 12, 2021
A new study by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) found home care and group home providers suffered significant workforce shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Better Care Better Jobs Act would create 500,000 direct care jobs: analysis
By
Kathleen Steele Gaivin
Jul 27, 2021
Passing the Better Care Better Jobs Act would create more than 500,000 new direct care jobs and provide respite care and other paid support, and it would enable millions of family caregivers to get back...
Price tag of Better Care Better Jobs Act is closer to $150B, NAHC’s Dombi says
By
Liza Berger
Jul 20, 2021
While language in the Better Care Better Jobs Act did not mention a dollar amount, many expected it would inject around $400 billion into Medicaid home- and community-based services (HCBS). It turns out...
Senior living leaders hopeful $3.5 trillion budget bill will remember providers
By
Kimberly Bonvissuto
Jul 15, 2021
Senate Democrats announced a $3.5 trillion budget agreement on Tuesday, and although details are limited on how the package specifically might affect aging services providers, senior living leaders remain...
Reporting COVID vaccination data to CMS would be ‘burdensome,’ ‘redundant’ for assisted living,...
By
Lois A. Bowers
Jul 14, 2021
Requiring assisted living providers to report weekly COVID-19 vaccination data to the federal government would add administrative and cost burdens to operators already challenged by the pandemic and even...
Lawmaker pressures CMS on status of national quality measures for HCBS
By
Alicia Lasek
Jul 13, 2021
The ranking member of the Senate Special Committee on Aging is turning up the heat on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, asking the agency’s chief to describe its efforts to establish quality...
Home Care briefs for Wednesday, July 7
By
Diane Eastabrook
Jul 07, 2021
Provider Relief Fund reporting portal opens … HCA completes majority stake purchase in Brookdale Health Care Services … Florida HCBS provider charged with Medicaid fraud … Online calculator can predict...