If the construction industry could talk, it might say that home care has chutzpah.
To think that this healthcare segment not only could infiltrate a major infrastructure plan but be the second-largest piece of the plan? That is the height of audacity.
Of course, I am talking about President Biden’s $2 trillion American Jobs Plan, which has designated $400 billion to Medicaid home- and community-based services (HCBS). That amount is the largest in the plan following $621 billion for transportation and infrastructure. Just the proposal has elevated home care to a new status in healthcare and demanded that lawmakers pay attention.
It is one reason why leaders of the home care community are telling their members to seize the day.
“It’s pretty clear that 2021 is the year of healthcare at home,” said William Dombi, president of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice, who spoke on a webinar Thursday about new developments in the industry. Along with NAHC, the Home Care Association of America (HCAOA) and the law firm Polsinelli sponsored the event.
Vicki Hoak, executive director of HCAOA, encouraged members to pause for a moment and celebrate the victory.
“This is the moment for home care. This is when we have got to come together, collaborate, talk about things,” she said on the webinar.
There are other reasons to marvel at home care, which Dombi listed at length. Take your pick. Maybe it’s the 200 hospitals signing on to the Acute Hospital Care at Home program. How about the pending introduction of the HCBS Access Act of 2021 and Choose Home proposal? Then there’s the expected proposal to expand the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing Model to 50 states. Any way you slice it, this field is poised for change. Which means that the rest of healthcare is as well.
If I were a hospital or a nursing home or even a doctor’s office, I’d find a reputable home care or home health agency to partner with — because, as of right now, home care is the right company.
Liza Berger is editor of McKnight’s Home Care. Follow her @LizaBerger19 or email her at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on McKnight's Senior Living
