Nonmedical home care providers in Connecticut are crying foul at new survey guidance that is prohibiting them from using the word “care” in advertising materials.
“This guidance is arbitrary and capricious and banning the word care, which is used by consumers, families and workers alike to describe the important work dedicated caregivers perform every day for clients, is patently absurd and defies common sense,” Vicki Hoak, CEO of the Home Care Association of America; Marlene Chickarella, chair of HCAOA Connecticut; and Tracy Wodwatch, president and CEO of the Connecticut Association for Healthcare at Home wrote in a recent letter to Gov. Ned Lamont (D-CT).
The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection issued the guidance on Jan. 31. In it, the department reminded homemaker companion agencies (HCAs) that they “may not advertise services beyond the scope of the HCA credential, including medical services.”
HCAs are forbidden from using language that suggests medical services, the guidance said. These terms include “healthcare,” “nursing,” “patient,” “care” and any versions of these words. It advised agencies that instead of using the word “care” they use “services” or “assistance.”
Hoak told McKnight’s Home Care Daily Pulse on Friday that preventing the approximate 800 nonmedical home care agencies in the state from using the word “care” “just throws another barrier up when families are trying to access care for loved ones.”
She pointed out that Connecticut is one of 20 states that does not license home care agencies. Without a licensing standard, “these are the kinds of things that are bound to happen,” Hoak said.
Agencies are required to register with the Department of Consumer Protection, which provides some standards such as criminal background checks, she noted.
The advisory is not happening in other states and is not a trend, Hoak said.
The providers’ letter urges the governor to direct the commissioner of Consumer Protection to withdraw the guidance “with respect to prohibiting the word ‘care.’”
HCAOA has created a Legislative Advocacy Alert on the topic and encourages Connecticut chapter members to put pressure on the governor to force the commissioner to withdraw the guidance.
