Public Opinion Supports the Choose Home Care Act

The Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare (PQHH) recently released the results of a new poll conducted by Morning Consult, which underscores the popularity of home health and the importance of passing the Choose Home Care Act of 2021.  

86% of adults, including 94% of Medicare beneficiaries, expressed support for the Choose Home Care Act. The poll also demonstrated wide bipartisan support, with 83% of Republicans and 92% of Democrats showing support for the legislation. 

The results of the poll are highly in favor of increasing patient choice for post-hospital care. Here are several resources regarding the poll for your use:

• PQHH/NAHC Press Release: https://pqhh.org/article/new-public-opinion-poll-finds-strong-support-for-home-health-choose-home-care-act/

• MC Poll Results: http://pqhh.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/PQHH-Logo_Home-Health_Final_8.19.pdf

• Infographic: http://pqhh.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/210913_PQHH_SCR.pdf

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• Send letter to local newspaper

New Poll: Seniors Want to Age at Home with Caregiver Support

McKnight’s Senior Living / By Diane Eastabrook 

A new AARP poll finds voters over age 50 overwhelmingly want to age in their own homes with caregiver support. The poll comes as Congress prepares to vote on the Biden administration’s $3.5 trillion budget that includes billions of dollars for home- and community-based services.

In the survey of 1,400 older voters, AARP found 87% wanted to age in place with caregiver support; the same percentage wanted to choose how long-term care services would be provided.

Respondents also overwhelmingly supported a $5,000 tax credit for family caregivers, as proposed in the bipartisan Credit for Caring Act. And a majority of respondents supported increased resources for in-home care and for Medicaid to guarantee home care services as a choice for seniors in need of long-term care.

The survey found the broad support for in-home services was evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans. 

The administration’s plan, known as Build Back Better, would expand home care for older adults, while improving job training, wages and benefits for caregivers. The plan would also bolster affordable housing for seniors.

Several bills under discussion, such as the Caring for Credit Act, may wind up in the reconciliation package. Among them are the Choose Home Act, which would allow seniors who qualify for nursing home services to get skilled nursing care in their homes.

HCBS Funding Is Now in the Congressional Crosshairs

Home Health Care News / By Robert Holly
 
The $400 billion that the Biden administration wanted for strengthening the nation’s home- and community-based services (HCBS) infrastructure is likely in the crosshairs of Congress.
 
Currently, President Joe Biden and senior Democrats are working to figure out what’s included in the large spending legislation they hope to pass through the budget reconciliation process. Early estimates had a $3.5 trillion package touching on health care, education and climate change.
 
In order to pass the domestic investment plan via reconciliation, Democrats need the support of their entire party in the Senate. Yet some Senators, including Joe Manchin of West Virginia, have expressed a desire to get the spending legislation closer to $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion.
 
“Instead of rushing to spend trillions on new government programs and additional stimulus funding, Congress should hit a strategic pause on the budget-reconciliation legislation,” Manchin wrote in a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed. “A pause is warranted because it will provide more clarity on the trajectory of the pandemic, and it will allow us to determine whether inflation is transitory or not.”
 
In addition to the package’s overall price tag, Machin has expressed specific concerns about the plan to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on in-home care, according to a Tuesday report from Axios.
 
Other members of Congress have pushed back against investments in “soft” infrastructure as well.
 
Due to the lack of full-party support at the moment, funding for HCBS, which would likely be carved into the spending legislation through the recently introduced Better Care Better Jobs Act, may end up closer to $150 billion. Sens. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Ron Wyden of Oregon are among the key backers of the Better Care Better Jobs Act, along with Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan in the House.
 
Another Axios report from Friday [September 10^th] said the House Ways and Means Committee was looking to invest $190 billion into HCBS.
 
Even if $400 billion is ultimately reduced to $190 billion, that would be a historic increase for HCBS providers, which for years have struggled with lackluster Medicaid rates and dire labor shortages.
 
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