Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Expand Home-Based Care Coverage Under Medicaid

Home Health Care News | By Joyce Famakinwa 

A number of lawmakers – including Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) – introduced a bill Thursday that would expand coverage of home- and community-based services under Medicaid.
 
The HCBS Access Act was introduced by Casey, as a companion bill to the Better Care Better Jobs Act, which was originally unveiled in 2021 and reintroduced in January.
 
“The second bill establishes a permanent funding stream to keep the infrastructure strong and to make sure we’re able to continue to pay direct care professionals at a rate that ensures qualified, reliable services in a qualified reliable workforce into the future,” Casey said during a hearing announcing the bill.
 
The bill would also provide training and support for family or informal caregivers.
 
The legislation would provide grant funding for states, allowing them to expand their capacity for home-based care services.
 
So far, the bill has already received strong support from the Partnership for Medicaid Home-Based Care (PMHC).
 
“PMHC is encouraged by Senator Casey and Representative Dingell’s efforts to continue to bring ongoing focus on the need to treat home-based services as a long-term, viable alternative to facility-based care with sufficient funding to address workforce challenges,” a PMHC spokesperson told Home Health Care News in an email. “Ultimately, we hope to see bipartisan engagement to bring this to fruition to allow us to sustain and improve important long-term supports and services for the people we serve.”

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