Home care providers are partially rolling back a rule proposed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that would require states to spend 80% of Medicaid’s community and home services funds on wages. caregiver.
This proposal aims to attract and retain more direct care workers as the industry continues to face severe staffing challenges due to high demand for home care services due to the COVID pandemic. -19. Some providers say they may be forced to halt hiring, lay off workers or shut down businesses if they are unable to use their home and community service funds to train staff and cover administrative costs.
At least one company hesitated to move forward until more details became available. Dirk Allison, President and CEO of Frisco, Texas-based Addus HomeCare, told Wall Street analysts last week that his company had halted home care acquisitions for until the proposed rules are made clearer.
“Things like training and regulatory compliance that directly affect caregivers and being active in the field are the things that we need to include in the code,” said Allison.
CMS publishes proposal late April as part of a rule to ensure quality access to Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. It comes just days after President Joe Biden signed an executive order to expand in-home services and improve jobs for direct care workers.
Nearly all states are reporting severe worker shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic as demand for home-based services grows. The Labor Department estimates the homecare industry will need about 1 million direct-care workers by the end of the decade as many of the nation’s 72 million baby boomers look to age in place.
All 50 states receive Medicaid funding through waivers that can be spent on in-home services such as skilled nursing, personal care, home health care, and home therapy. home. The Biden administration has funneled about $30 billion into home and community services, and increased the federal health assistance percentage for states to 10% as part of the Rescue Plan Act. USA.
Although 22 states have enacted wage transfer policies that require a certain portion of Medicaid reimbursement to be earmarked for employees through wage increases, other states have failed to do so, in part because they It is not known whether the additional funding will continue after the COVID-19 public health emergency.
John Gochnour, chief executive officer of Eagle, Idaho-based home care company Pennant Group, told analysts on an earnings call last week that companies will be able to use Medicaid funding in ways that “allow for substantial reductions in activity-related costs.” [their] businesses.”
The proposed rule is also spreading through other parts of the healthcare industry. The American Hospital Association said it was evaluating the rule to determine if it could potentially lead to fewer home health and caregiving aides. According to the association, in 2022, the average length of stay of patients discharged for home treatment increased by 12% compared to 2019 due to staffing shortages of agencies.
Suppliers have until the end of June to comment on the proposal and make suggestions on alternative thresholds. CMS is expected to issue a final rule in the fall and give states four years to comply with it.
