2020 is
gearing up to be a monumental year for BAYADA’s Government Affairs Office (GAO).
GAO directors and Chief Government Affairs Officer Dave Totaro have worked
diligently with BAYADA leadership to agree upon this year’s legislative
priorities. Check out GAO’s state-by-state priorities below! To find out more
about your state’s issues and how you can get involved, see the list of state
GAO directors and associates within the article.
FEDERAL
Chief Government Affairs Officer Dave Totaro
Federal Affairs Associate Victoria DeLone
#1: Support PQHH and
NAHC to pass the Home Health Payment Innovation Act
- Eliminates behavioral assumptions to set
reimbursement rates and limits changes in reimbursement to +/- 2% in any year
- BAYADA impact: $12-15 million
#2: Support the
passage of the Home Health Care Planning Improvement Act
- Allow non-physician providers to certify a
patient’s eligibility for coverage – including face to face requirements
- BAYADA impact: TBD (awaiting score from CBO)
#3: Introduce and
pass the Home Care Access and Savings Act (H-CASA)
- Modernizes the Medicaid program through quality, efficiency, and integrity improvements
- BAYADA impact: Policy only
NORTHEAST REGION
Area Director Louise Lindenmeier (NJ, RI, NY, MA)
Director Ashley Sadlier (RI, NY, MA)
Associate Marissa Fogal
NJ
#1: Secure
increase for PCA to offset minimum wage increases in 2021 by $3 per hour
- BAYADA impact: $7.2 million
#2: Increase the
state fee for service rate for RNs and LPNs by $10 per hour in Private Duty
Nursing and set a minimum rate floor for managed Medicaid.
- LPN increase of 26.3% from $38 per hour to $48.
RN increase of 20% from $50 to $60.
- BAYADA impact: $19.1 million
#3: Pass
legislation to mandate commercial insurance to cover PDN
- Impact: Potential savings of $50-70 million for
state Medicaid dollars
NY
#1: Gain NYC Department
of Education’s Request for Proposal to achieve status of “approved vendor” to
provide school nursing services in the New York City boroughs
RI
#1: Pass
legislation to ensure clients turning 21 have continuity of care
- BAYADA impact: $1.1 Million
#2: Defend Cost of
Living Adjustment (COLA) for Medicaid Home Care/Hospice rates
- Governor has proposed an additional 5.9%
increase for skilled nursing and CNA services in the 2020-2021 budget,
effective 7/1/2020
- This proposal must still go through the
legislative decision-making process, with the final budget set to be signed by
the end of June 2020. GAO will continue to monitor its progress and advocate
for this increase
- CNA Current Average: $25.51 à $27.02 (+$1.51)
- LPN Current Average: $47.79 à $50.61 (+$2.82)
- RN Current Average: $54.20 à $57.40 (+$3.20)
#3: Secure an increase
for Medicaid FFS reimbursement rates
- 16.3% increase from $25.52 to $29.67
#4: Secure a rate
floor for Managed Medicaid rates so they cannot be below the set Medicaid FFS
rates
MID-ATLANTIC REGION
Area Director Laura Ness (PA, DE, MD, IN)
Associate Director Rob Lattin (DE, MD, IN)
Senior Associate Maggie Tracy
DE
#1: Secure an
increase for PDN LPN and RN reimbursement rates
- 21% increase from $46.14 to $56.01 for LPNs, and
21% increase from $51.50 to $62.51 for RNs
- BAYADA impact: $5.3 million
MD
- Protect the yearly rate increase for LPNs
providing private duty nursing.
- BAYADA impact: Unknown
- Practice: SNU
PA
#1: Secure an increase for Personal Assistance
Services under Community Health Choices
- 8%
increase (dollar amount depends on MCO)
- 2019
goal was a 10% increase, and a 2% increase was secured. Thus, the 2020 goal is
to obtain the remaining 8%
- BAYADA
impact: $3.2 million
#2:
Pass legislation to allow Deemed Eligibility for home care
#3:
Eliminate the requirement for nurses to call home health aides every two
weeks
SOUTHEAST REGION
Area Director Lee Dobson (NC, SC, GA, MO)
Director Melissa Allman (GA, SC, MO)
Senior Associate Lindsey Wright
GA
#1: Secure a 6% increase for all Medicaid
nursing services
NC
#1: Secure an
increase for nursing under Medicaid’s PDN Program–
- 13.6% increase from $39.60 to $45
- BAYADA impact $8.4 million
#2: Secure an
increase for aide wages under Personal Care Services, Community Alternatives
Program, and CAP for Children
- 18.6% increase from $15.60 to $18.50
- BAYADA impact: $1.89 million
SC
#1: Secure a 10%
PDN rate increase, effective July 1, 2020
- The state recommended a 15% increase effective
July 1, 2020. After further advocacy efforts focused on the urgent need for an
immediate increase, DHHS issued the initial 5% increase, effective January 1,
2020. DHHS is committed to including the remaining 10% to be effective July 1,
2020. If the provision is passed into law as planned, then PDN services will
see a total 15% increase from 2019 levels (5% increase effective January 1,
2020, and an additional 10% targeted for July 1, 2020).
- Practice: Skilled Nursing
#2: Secure 24% for
RN and 35% for LPN increase for Medicaid nursing waivers
- BAYADA impact $1.16 million
- Practice: Skilled Nursing
#3: Secure a 10%
increase for Personal Care Waivers
GRASSROOTS ADVOCACY & PUBLIC AFFAIRS
Grassroots Advocacy Senior Manager Mike Sokoloski
Public Affairs Senior Manager Alisa Fox
Grassroots Advocacy: In 2020, the GAO Grassroots
Advocacy team is seeking to further enhance the Ambassador program by creating
a new “Senior Ambassador” role in order to have seasoned advocates guide and
mentor newer advocates. Senior Ambassadors will also be able to attend special
and strategic events in order to hone their skills and to advise GAO on issues
their office(s) see. If you would like to learn more about the Ambassador
and/or the Senior Ambassador program, or how you can get involved in advocacy,
contact the Grassroots Advocacy team at msokoloski@bayada.com.
Public Affairs: Following the success seen in 2019,
BAYADA has expanded its public affairs program to open up resources for smaller
states that may benefit from a public affairs campaign. In first quarter,
BAYADA has employed three campaigns thus far: A campaign to increase PDN and
PCA rates in New Jersey, a campaign to further increase PDN rates in South
Carolina, and a campaign to create regulations in Rhode Island to ensure that
medically-complex children aging out of the pediatrics program can continue to
seamlessly access care. Other states that may soon be seeing public affairs
campaigns are: Florida, Indiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, and Pennsylvania.