In The News

Landmark Choose Home Bill Introduced in the House

Home Health Care News / By Robert Holly

The Choose Home Care Act of 2021 was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives early Friday morning.

The legislation was previously introduced in the Senate at the end of July.

If enacted, the landmark Choose Home legislation would create an add-on payment to the traditional Medicare Home Health Benefit, allowing providers to mix in telehealth, transportation, personal care and other services. The goal of the concept is to give nursing home-eligible Medicare beneficiaries more options as to how and where they recover following a trip to the hospital.

The House version of Choose Home was sponsored by U.S. Reps. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) and James Comer (R-Ky.).

Since being introduced in the Senate, Choose Home has received “an outpouring of support from America’s home health community as well as consumer and patient advocates,” National Association for Home Care & Hospice (NAHC) President William A. Dombi said in a statement released shortly after the bill’s introduction.

“[We believe that] demonstrates how important it is to increase access to safe, cost-effective care at home for Medicare beneficiaries after hospitalization,” Dombi continued. “We commend Reps. Cuellar and Comer for their leadership on issues impacting the delivery of home care and are excited to see this bill introduced in the U.S. House.”

So far, the House version of Choose Home is also co-sponsored by Reps. Sanford Bishop, Jr. (D-Ga.), Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), Buddy Carter (R-Ga.), Dwight Evans (D-Pa.) and Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas). Lawmakers Brian Higgins (D-N.Y.), Clay Higgins (R-La.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Mike Johnson (R-La.), Tom O’Halleran (D-Ariz.), Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) and Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.) also have backed the legislation.

U.S. Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.) are the lead sponsors of the Senate version, which also has drawn plenty of co-sponsors and bipartisan support.

In addition to NAHC, Choose Home is supported by AARP, LeadingAge, Allies for Independence, the National Council on Aging, Moving Health Home, the Council of State Home Care & Hospice Associations and the Forum of State Associations.

The Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare (PQHH) is likewise a major advocate for Choose Home.

“We applaud Reps. Cuellar and Comer, and all the original co-sponsors, for recognizing the value of home health and the importance of advancing legislation to increase seniors’ care options after hospitalization,” PQHH Executive Director Joanne Cunningham said in a statement. “With their support, we are hopeful we will see the Choose Home Care Act enacted this year in order to help us better protect our nation’s vulnerable aging and sick populations while also modernizing the Medicare Home Health Benefit.”

[Now is the time to ask our Legilsators to support the 'Choose Home Care Act of 2021'!  The SNF industry estimates that they could lose as many as 1/3 of their patients as people transition home earlier, and are fighting tooth and nail in opposition to the legislation. Our voices combined with those we serve  - who studies show are overwhelmingly in support of the legislation - must be louder than the opposition if the bill is to pass. Click Here to Contact your Legislators Today through the NAHC Advocacy Center! ] 
 

MyCNAjobs Holiday Hiring Strategy Webinar

Join us on October 12th for a look at the latest holiday hiring trends and what to expect this year. Based on the headlines we all know it's going to be a challenging year and we want to help with useful strategies. We'll share fresh ideas to activate more candidates and how to apply them to recruit in the real world. This webinar is built for recruiters, owners, and anyone involved in the hiring process of front-line caregivers. (Register for the webinar here).

Anyone who registers for the webinar will receive a free holiday hiring guide. Please feel free to share this with your network!
 

Janssen and Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Boosters Update

The Vaccines and Related Biological Products advisory committee will meet on Oct. 14 and 15  to discuss the use of booster doses of the Janssen and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines Both vaccines are currently authorized for emergency use to prevent COVID-19 in individuals 18 years of age and older. The group will also discuss available data on the use of a booster of a different vaccine than the one used for the primary series.  

Read more in the FDA news release.
 

Placebo Effect

National Center for Complimentary and Integrative Health

The “gold standard” for testing interventions in people is the “randomized, placebo-controlled” clinical trial, in which volunteers are randomly assigned to a test group receiving the experimental intervention or a control group receiving a placebo (an inactive substance that looks like the drug or treatment being tested). Comparing results from the two groups suggests whether changes in the test group result from the treatment or occur by chance.

The placebo effect is a beneficial health outcome resulting from a person’s anticipation that an intervention will help. How a health care provider interacts with a patient also may bring about a positive response that’s independent of any specific treatment.

Research supported by NCCIH has explored several aspects of the placebo effect. One study identified a genetic marker that may predict whether someone will respond to a placebo, another supported the idea that placebo responses may occur outside of conscious awareness, and a third suggested that placebos may be helpful even if patients know they’re receiving placebos.

This publication is not copyrighted and is in the public domain. Duplication is encouraged.

NCCIH has provided this material for your information. It is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your health care provider(s). We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with your health care provider. The mention of any product, service, or therapy is not an endorsement by NCCIH.

Placebo Effect - Systematic Reviews/Reviews/Meta-analyses (PubMed®)

Placebo Effect - Randomized Controlled Trials (PubMed®)
 

Reconciliation, Infrastructure Deadline Gets Pushed To Month’s End Inside Health Policy

Inside Health Policy
https://insidehealthpolicy.com/features/health-insider
 
October 04, 2021
Congressional Democrats are now shooting to reach agreement on a scaled-back reconciliation package that could pass with the infrastructure bill by the end of the month when a short-term highway transportation bill expires -- giving lobbyists and lawmakers four more weeks to spar over how to fit their health care priorities into a partisan package that the White House made clear Friday must shrink from $3.5 trillion to around $2 trillion, and possibly lower, to get centrists onboard.
 
Lawmakers are faced with difficult decisions on whether to retain all their health care priorities -- new Medicare benefits, a fix to the Medicaid coverage cap, extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credit, investment in home- and community-based health and permanent extension of the Children’s Health Insurance Program -- by scaling back how long they are funded, or instead scrapping some policies in favor of robustly funding others. Another continued question mark is what the final drug-pricing payfor will look like, and how much it will save.
 
President Joe Biden offered a relief valve to House Democrats Friday (Oct. 1), telling them at a caucus meeting there’s no urgency to pass the bipartisan infrastructure bill, after high-level discussions failed to produce a compromise to pass that bill and the reconciliation package at the same time. He also reportedly told lawmakers he wants both reconciliation and infrastructure voted on together, which is good news for progressives, but also reportedly set a new top-line reconciliation target of $1.9 trillion to $2.3 trillion. This is close to the $2 trillion that many on K street have speculated would be the final number, but Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), whose vote is needed, continues to call for a $1.5 trillion topline.
 
According to reports, the president told Democrats during the meeting that both bills will be enacted but he also said that it doesn’t matter exactly when. “It doesn’t matter (whether) it is in six minutes, six days or six weeks. We’re going to get it done,” he told reporters following the meeting. But Democrats then passed a one-month highway funding extension, so they view that as the new deadline for an infrastructure and reconciliation vote.
 
In a Saturday letter to her caucus, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said the infrastructure deal must be passed well before the October deadline. And she explained Friday’s decision-making.
 
“Time was interrupted two weeks ago when the prospect of a changed budget made the climb to agreement steeper. But still the work continues. Since it all starts with the priorities and then seeing what it all adds up to, it is important to know that it all adds up to ZERO, because Build Back Better is paid for. Negotiations will continue now, with more time for decisions, legislative language, Senate parliamentarian review and public awareness."
 
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said over the weekend that the goal is to have both parts of the president’s agenda passed by the end of the month, but lawmakers first have to figure out how to deal with the debt ceiling, which is expected to be hit prior to Halloween. Republicans have told Democrats they should expect to raise the debt ceiling without help from the GOP, while the president said he couldn’t guarantee addressing the debt ceiling without Republicans. One lobbyist said the debt ceiling battle also provides helpful cover for Democrats as they fight over the reconciliation bill.
 
Senate Budget Chair Bernie Sanders (I-VT) told Meet the Press over the weekend that it doesn’t matter if it takes a few more weeks to pass both the infrastructure and reconciliation bills and what matters is getting them done. Prior to that, on Friday (Oct. 2) Sanders tweeted congratulations to House progressives for insisting on passage of the reconciliation and infrastructure packages together.
 
“The Reconciliation Bill is transformational. It's about taking on Pharma to lower prescription drug costs, the fossil fuel industry to combat climate change, the insurance companies to expand Medicare and demanding the rich pay their fair share. If we stand together, we win,” Sanders tweeted.
 
While Manchin’s $1.5 trillion top-line reconciliation number left lawmakers and lobbyists scrambling to protect their health care priorities late last week, Democrats appear to now be aiming to get him onboard a price tag around $2 trillion. One lobbyist said Congress needs to be careful not to ratchet back policies to a point they won’t help those for whom they are intended.
 
Democrats’ plans to add dental, hearing and vision benefits to Medicare continue to be a flashpoint, with Manchin raising reservations about adding benefits to Part B while the Part A Medicare trust fund is set to be insolvent in 2026. He is pushing to means test the social programs in the reconciliation bill.
 
House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-SC) said last week that because Medicare isn’t a means-tested program, closing the so-called Medicaid gap should be a higher priority for Democrats than adding new benefits to Medicare. But others argued that covering hearing, vision and dental benefits would improve health equity.
 
On the pay-for side, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the bill Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR) is writing won’t extend Medicare negotiated drug prices to commercial insurers, will limit the instances in which Medicare negotiates, and will not aid negotiations with drug appraisals, lobbyists following the legislation said. Wyden is writing a watered-down version of House Democrats’ Medicare price negotiation bill that could pass the Senate, and the resulting savings will drive which Medicare, Medicaid and ACA reforms can be squeezed into the reconciliation package.
 
As health care lobbyists fixate on the heated Capitol Hill debate threatening to derail Democrats’ signature health care reforms, a lot of policy activity on health equity, mental health, transparency, and abortion has flown under the radar. Senate Finance Committee leaders are seeking input from stakeholders as they craft legislation aimed at cutting cut barriers to mental health services, academics are urging CMS to increase fines on hospitals not providing price transparency, HHS recently launched a three-pronged effort to protect patients and providers in Texas following enactment of the state’s anti-abortion law, and kidney stakeholders are touting a race-free approach to disease diagnosis. Find out more in Inside Health Policy’s federal roundup.
 
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