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Pennsylvania Homecare Association Responds to Misinformation from Nursing Home Advocacy Group

 

The Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Homecare Association (PHA) said today that a claim by nursing home interests that home health care is draining resources from nursing homes is “factually false and destructive to broad-based efforts to make limited public dollars go further in providing medical and health services for all Pennsylvanians.”

Vicki Hoak, the PHA director, said, “The nursing home industry has seen its reimbursement rates climb 22 percent in just the past five years.  By contrast, home health care providers have not seen an increase in reimbursement rates for four years.  Before that increase, the reimbursement rate had been stagnant for thirteen years.”

Click here for a copy of the press release.

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Thank you to our PHA Annual Conference Sponsors

Join us in Harrisburg for the 2008 PHA Annual Conference May 14-16

The place to be on May 14-16 is at the Harrisburg Hilton Hotel for this year's 37th PHA Annual Conference. The conference begins on Wednesday, May 14, with a special lobbying and legislative session in the main Capitol. Legislators and lobbyists are on tap to discuss their roles and what they expect from advocates such as homecare professionals.

Attorney General Tom Corbett

Chip Bell

Mike Magee

There will also be meetings scheduled with attendees' lawmakers. Following the morning activities, the annual conference officially opens with a luncheon featuring Governor Ed Rendel (invited). Val Halamandaris, NAHC's CEO is also scheduled to present an overview of homecare from the national perspective.

Pennsylvania's Attorney General Tom Corbett is another keynote speaker slated for May 14. Attorney General Corbett will discuss the purpose and goals of his newly created Elder Abuse Unit. Other conference speakers include Chip Bell, a nationally recognized expert on creating customer loyalty; Mike Hall, deputy secretary of Long-term Living; Cindy Boyne, director of the PA Dept. of Health Home Health Division and Annette Lee, consultant to Cahaba. The final speaker is acclaimed author and health care expert Mike Magee, MD. Dr. Magee is a recognized leader in the health care arena, and his book, Home Centered Health Care, offers a view of today's health care system and ways to reform it in light of a rapidly aging population.

Reserve your hotel room now by calling the Hilton at 1-800-445-8667. PHA has secured a special discounted rate of $119.  To download the conference brochure, click here.

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PHA Continues Fight for Home Health Rate Hike

Vicki Hoak testified recently in front of the Senate Aging & Youth Committee. Hoak emphasized the fact "that enrollment in the Aging Waiver fell from 14,611 in FY05-06 to 13,241 in FY 06-07 - all at a time when state officials were talking and writing editorials saying..."we want to give every one an opportunity to stay at home..."

"We can no longer afford to just talk about giving people the help they need to stay at home. Our baby boomers are reaching the age of 60 - one every seven minutes. We must enable our aging population to remain at home because that's where they want to be AND that's where they deserve to be. Our system must be responsive to consumers' and taxpayers.

"First and foremost we must strengthen the home and community-based network. The proposed budget for next year does not, once again, include any rate increase for in-home care; yet most health care reform discussions always include keeping people at home and out of hospitals and nursing homes."

Vicki also shared with the committee the following concerns:

• For the last two years, the allocation for the state Aging Waiver program, the only Medicaid program that provides in-home care to seniors so they don't have to go into a nursing home, has been under spent by more than $200 million.
• Last year alone, homecare professionals in Pennsylvania drove 210 million miles. This, coupled with increasing workers compensation and healthcare costs is ample justification for a Medicaid increase. The last time home health care received a Medicaid increase, just ONE in the last 16 years, gasoline was $1.32 a gallon - today it's $3.30.
• We're (Pennsylvania) also using Lottery dollars to pay for nursing homes - an estimated $248 million and another $8.2 million to pay for the salaries and administration of the Aging Department. Yet, more than 4,200 senior citizens are on a waiting list for home and community-based services.

Vicki concluded her testimony by urging the committee to "review the current Long-term Living system to ensure that it reflects the needs of today's senior citizens and its future customers - you and me. Look at where the money is going and see what you're getting for your money. Pennsylvania must continue with its re-direction of where long-term care is being provided. There is no place like home; whether that is a senior living with his/her daughter's family or alone next door; in an apartment or an assisted living facility - no matter what home looks like - that's where people want to be. And that's where the state's funding should be directed."

PHA members are encouraged to continue to contact their local legislators and reinforce this message. They are hearing from your colleagues in the nursing home industry. We need to consistently deliver the message that homecare needs to be strengthened today if we are to meet future demands. Click here to access the PHA talking points and background information to assist you with your visits.

Members who meet with legislators are asked to contact PHA to let staff know how the meeting went and what feedback, if any, the legislator shared with you. This information is valuable as we meet with legislators in Harrisburg to reinforce your message. A feedback form is available on the website.

If you have questions, contact Eric Kiehl, PHA Public Affairs Director at 800.382.1211, ext. 26 or via email.

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PHA Submits Comments on Proposed Homecare Regulations

PHA's final comments on the proposed homecare licensure regulations focused primarily on burdensome changes in the training requirements and five new diseases/conditions, under Health Evaluations (§ 611.56) which would require annual screening.

Please contact Eric Kiehl, PHA Public Affairs Director at ekiehl@pahomecare.org if you have any questions about the draft regulations or PHA's comments on the regulations.

Additional information on homecare agency and registry licensure is available on the PHA website, including past drafts of the regulations and links to other statutes referenced throughout the regulations. Click here to visit our comprehensive site.

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State Needs to Remove Barriers to Homecare According to University of Pittsburgh Study

According to a University of Pittsburgh report, The State of the Homecare Industry in Pennsylvania: Bringing Care Home, Pennsylvania’s homecare industry cares for more than 190,000 clients each week – more than the total number of licensed beds in all the hospitals and nursing homes in the state. “But until personal care in the home is paid for by Medicaid for all eligible Pennsylvanians as it is for nursing home care, Pennsylvania will continue to struggle to gain a balanced long-term care system,” the report’s authors said.

Vicki Hoak, Executive Director of the The Pennsylvania Homecare Association (PHA) which commissioned the report noted that, “This report acknowledges this industry’s efforts to accommodate consumers’ preference to have care and support brought to them – in their homes.”  Click here for a copy of the report. Click here for a copy of the press release.

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Homecare Operations Manual Available