I would like to also mention that HCAOA is honored to once again work with Home Care Pulse to facilitate the 2017 Home Care Benchmarking Study. This important study captures a critical snapshot of today's home care industry, including client demographics, employee details, training information, and data on peer organizations. (see related article in this issue) Each year, the Benchmarking Study results and data prove vital to our Association. The results assist HCAOA members in developing and improving operational plans, adapting new best practices, and preparing for future changes within the continually expanding home care industry. Moreover, the study specifically measures revenue and growth of HCAOA members' businesses in comparison to non-members who participated in the study. Of note, historical data from past studies shows that HCAOA members produce consistently higher median revenues compared to their non-member counterparts. While the data does not draw a direct correlation, the value of HCAOA membership contributes to our members' overall success, as represented in the study data.

Highlighted in this issue of The Voice is our feature article that discusses our chapter development efforts and how you can become more engaged in the states on issues impacting the home care industry. In our Members News section, we feature an article focusing on plans to conduct our 2017 Membership Survey. As mentioned, in our continuous effort to measure how HCAOA is serving you, we are planning to assess the specific membership offerings we have made available, particularly those that have become available over the past year. In addition, we provide detailed information on how you advocate on issues important to you by participating in the upcoming Congressional Lobby Day fly-in scheduled on May 15-16 in Washington, DC. Another highlight of HCAOA membership is our Annual Leadership Conference. This year, the conference will be held in Austin, TX, October 8-11. Not only do we want you to attend, we are currently soliciting members to share your expertise by responding to our Call for Speakers. Rounding out the issue, we have highlighted some of the federal issues we are monitoring included in our Public Policy/Advocacy News section.

HCAOA in Your State - How to Get Involved or Start a Chapter in Your State

Over the past year, HCAOA has taken specific steps to ramp up development and assist in the management of HCAOA chapters. I want to take this opportunity to first acknowledge those HCAOA members who have volunteered in the past and currently serving in leadership positions in our state chapters. Thank you for your leadership.

Under a new governance policy that went into effect last year, HCAOA chapters are set up as Standing committees under the HCAOA organizational chart reporting to the HCAOA Board of Directors. The new structure has allowed Chapters to function much as before. However, HCAOA will be responsible for managing all of the administrative and business functions of the chapters including chapter operations, financial management, membership development and advocacy. This administrative simplification has also made it much easier to establish new Chapters in states where there are currently no existing Chapters.  In the past, one of the major stumbling blocks of establishing new Chapters was the administrative burden on the Chapter of establishing itself as a separate entity.

HCAOA has a full time staffer, Nataly Schwartz, Manager of Chapter Services who joined HCAOA staff last July, to manage chapter activities and serve as the primary liaison to HCAOA state chapters. With Nataly on board, HCAOA is working with chapters on a set of priority objectives to assist chapter operations and effectiveness. Key areas of focus include the following:

HCAOA State Resources

HCAOA has existing resources including a State Legislative Tracking software system that helps chapters monitor legislation impacting the home care industry. In addition, HCAOA offers a grassroots software system to develop and execute grassroots advocacy communications that can be activated at a moment's notice to deliver messages to state lawmakers. I am encouraging all members to get involved in your state chapter. I am including a link  to our chapter list . If you would like to know more about getting involved in your state chapter, or you don't have a state chapter in your state and you are interested in starting a chapter, please contact Nataly Schwartz at [email protected].

• HCAOA staff will identify members interested in joining a state chapter committee.
• HCAOA staff will schedule a conference call for anyone in the state that wants to be involved.
• HCAOA will file the paperwork to establish the state chapter committee with the Secretary of State.
• Chapter leaders will be identified and names submitted to the HCAOA Board of Directors for approval.

Caring for America's Seniors: The Value of Home Care provides information on the growing and critical role of professional home care in the United States in response to the millions of aging Americans who will need care. The report shines a spotlight on home care as a valuable and vital part of the solution to the challenges that accompany population aging. 

GOP's Struggles with Obamacare Replacement

 

Republicans in Congress are hitting roadblocks as they try to devise a plan to replace Obamacare, stuck over issues like how to structure the tax breaks they want to provide individuals to purchase insurance.

 

Republicans are knee-deep in Obamacare alternatives, but none have a consensus. Republicans have agreed on vague concepts such as tax breaks, letting insurers sell across state lines and letting states run Medicaid. One plan with some momentum, offered by Senators Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Susan Collins of Maine, would allow states that like Obamacare to keep it, or let them use the Obamacare taxes to set up an alternate system.

 

House Speaker Paul Ryan and newly installed Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price have proposed an age-based refundable tax credit. Senator Rand Paul wants individuals to have the same unlimited tax deduction that employers get. Representative Mark Walker has floated a health-care tax deduction capped at $20,500 for families.

 

Top Republicans are concerned the Congressional Budget Office would analyze their plan as insuring fewer people than Obamacare. What would they tell constituents who stood to lose their coverage? That fear has proven prescient as angry voters flood into town halls demanding that Republican lawmakers not strip away their Obamacare benefits.

 

Republican Senators Introduce Obamacare Replacement

 

Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) - two lawmakers who have been adamant that there must be a replacement plan soon after the law is repealed - introduced their version of an Obamacare replacement on Monday. It was quickly dismissed as an "empty facade" by the Senate's top Democrat, Chuck Schumer.

 

The proposal wouldn't fully repeal the law and would allow states to keep operating under the law if they choose. The legislation, known as the Patient Freedom Act, would shift the burden of administering insurance coverage to states through block-grant-style funding. It would allow states to decide whether they want the current system of state and federal insurance exchanges, new state-run marketplaces with tax-credit-funded health savings accounts or no federal funding at all. Every state would have access to the same level of funding that is available through Obamacare - regardless of whether the state actually expanded Medicaid.

 

The measure would repeal federal mandates that require individuals and business owners to buy insurance, shifting health-care decisions to governors and state legislatures. The plan does keep key benefits, such as a ban on insurers denying coverage based on preexisting conditions, allowing adult children to stay on their parents' plan until the age of 26, and free coverage for preventive care such as mammograms and childhood vaccines. However, to pay for all of the benefits, they also need to keep the taxes in Obamacare that Republicans have long opposed.

 

President Donald Trump has nominated former National Labor Relations Board member Alexander Acosta as his new labor secretary-designate, less than a day after his first choice, fast-food executive Andrew Puzder, withdrew his name from consideration for the post.

Acosta served on the board for eight months in 2003, before President George W. Bush appointed him as his assistant attorney general for civil rights. He is currently the law school dean at Florida International University.

The new labor secretary-designate met with Trump yesterday, the same day Puzder withdrew. At first glance, senators won't have nearly as much controversial material to consider during Acosta's confirmation process as they did with Puzder.

 

Senate Committee Moves Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) introduced the Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act (S.178) on January 20, 2017. On February 2 ^nd the Senate Judiciary Committee expressed its support for the legislation.

 

An estimated six million Americans over the age of 60 fall victim to abuse or exploitation each year, and many of those crimes go unreported.  Financial crimes targeting seniors robs them of at least $2.9 billion annually. The mission of S. 178 is to minimize elder abuse and exploitation and establish an infrastructure within the justice system to better support victims in elder abuse and exploitation cases. There are two primary mandates within the legislation which aim to help accomplish this mission: (1) expand federal investigation support for elder abuse and exploitation cases, and (2) improve data collection and federal coordination in areas relating to elder abuse and exploitation in the United States.

 

Section 101 of S. 178 mandates that there be at least one Assistant United States Attorney designated to serve as Elder Justice Coordinator in every judicial district. This Coordinator will serve as the legal counsel for the district on elder abuse, prosecute elder abuse cases, conduct public outreach, and ensure the collection of the statistical data required under section 202 of the Act. Additionally, this section mandates that the FBI and Attorney General work to implement a comprehensive training program for FBI agents on the investigation and prosecution of elder abuse in order to ensure a more consistent management of the cases.

 

Section 201 and 202 of S. 178 aims to improve data collection and federal coordination in areas relating to elder abuse and exploitation in the United States. First, the Act requires the Attorney General to coordinate with Federal, State, and Local law enforcement agencies to establish best practices for the collection of data relating to elder abuse. Second, the Act requires the Attorney General to work in conjunction with the Secretary of Health and Human Services to collect statistical data on elder abuse enforcement actions and post the information on the DOJ's website annually.

 

S. 178 also works to enhance victim assistance to elder abuse survivors, protect elders from telemarketing and email marketing fraud, and requires GOA to provide recommendations to Congress on programs and initiatives in the Federal criminal justice system relevant to elder abuse.