Federal Issues

Advocacy at the National Level

While the Rhode Island Partnership is busy working on local issues and keeping elected and appointed state officials informed about concerns facing our home care and hospice member agencies and the patients they care for, our national association, The National Association of Home Care (NAHC), is busy monitoring things on Capitol Hill and influencing public policy. We rely on the experts at NAHC to keep us briefed and to prepare us for action.

One thing NAHC does, and does fast, is getting our members the latest, most accurate news as soon as it happens – sometimes before the information is public. NAHC staff is involved in shaping policy with government agencies overseeing home care and hospice, gathering news and background information on everything that affects home care providers and hospices.

We encourage visitors to our site to also join NAHC and receive concise and timely information directly.

Please contact NAHC’s Member Services Department by e-mail Click here to email or by phone at 202/547-7424.

Congress: Fight Fraud First!

NAHC Statement on Senate Finance Committee Report – 10/3/11

Oppose Medicare Home Health Copays and Payment Cuts
NAHC urges all home care advocates to join in sending the message for Congress to “Oppose Medicare home health copays and payment cuts.”

Preserve Access to Home Health Care
Ensure that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) preserves adequate and appropriate payment for Medicare home health services and does not impose unreasonable regulatory burdens that would restrict access to care.

  1. Urge Members of Congress to co-sponsor the Home Health Care Access Protection Act.
    »  Talking Points/Issue Brief
    »  Impact Data: By State
    »  Impact Data: By Congressional District
    »  Congressional Letters to CMS
    »  Report: Home Health Care Saves Billions for Medicare
    » Write Your Legislators
  2. Urge that face to face physician encounter requirement for home health services be rescinded and reformed.
    » Talking Points/Issue Brief
    » Senate Letter to CMS Administrator Berwick
    » Write Your Legislators
    » Call Your Legislators

Expand the Home Health Caucus
Congressmen Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Walter Jones (R-NC) are again asking their colleagues in the House of Representatives to join the Congressional Home Health Caucus. NAHC urges all home care advocates to reach out to their representatives and remind them to join the caucus today.

Hospice: Protect the Medicare Hospice Benefit
NAHC urges hospice advocates  to tell Congress to “Protect the Medicare Hospice Benefit.”

Hospice: Message to U.S. Senators
Support S. 722 to Refine Hospice Face-to-Face, Require Demonstration of Hospice Payment Reform, and Increase Hospice Survey Frequency

Promote Telehomecare/Remote Monitoring
Contact your Senators and encourage them to co-sponsor S. 501 http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112:s.501:, the Fostering Independence Through Technology (FITT) Act of 2011 which would expand the use of telehealth under Medicare by offering incentives to home health agencies who demonstrate the use of remote monitoring and communication technologies that serve rural and underserved urban communities.

Allow NP/PASS to Order Home Health Services
Ask your Senators and Representative to co-sponsor the Home Health Care Planning Improvement Act, which would allow Nurse Practitioners, Advanced Practice Nurses, and Physician Assistants to sign Medicare home health care plans.

Oppose Proposals to Cut Federal Funding for Medicaid.
NAHC urges home care and hospice advocates to ask their Members of Congress to protect access to home care and hospice for low income Medicaid beneficiaries by opposing proposals that would reduce federal Medicaid funding.