In Key Home Care Victory, House Passes Elizabeth Dole Home Care Act

McKnight’s Home care / By Adam Healy
 
Providers, industry organizations and advocates applauded the House’s passage of the Elizabeth Dole Home Care Act on Tuesday evening.
 
“It’s a good recognition, especially on the House’s part, that reinforces home care as an industry,” Jason Lee, chief executive officer of the Home Care Association of America (HCAOA), said in an interview on Wednesday with McKnight’s Home Care Daily Pulse. “They see the value in the services, and that is so critically important.”
 
The Elizabeth Dole Home Care Act would introduce various provisions to make home care more accessible for veterans. Among the key ones: The cost of providing veterans noninstitutional alternatives to nursing home services, such as home care, may not exceed 100% of the cost that would have been incurred if they had received Department of Veterans Affairs nursing home care. (Under current law, these expenditures are limited to 65% of the cost.) And for specified veterans, the VA may exceed 100% of the cost if it determines the higher cost is in the best interest of such veterans. 
 
The legislation also would create partnerships between the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) and Veterans Affairs Medical Centers, according to the National PACE Association, which also expressed support for the bill.

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