Georgia Department of Human Services (DHS) Commissioner Candice L. Broce named Melody DeBussey as the Department’s new Deputy Commissioner for Family Independence, an office comprised of more than 2,500 employees. In this role, she will oversee the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicaid, and other self-sufficiency and family support activities. "Melody DeBussey is a brilliant public servant with the right policy expertise, fiscal track record, and forward-thinking leadership style to lead the State of Georgia's integrated eligibility system and 2,616-strong workforce,” said Commissioner Broce. “We are honored to welcome her to the Department of Human Services. Go Jackets!" Before joining DHS, DeBussey served the nonpartisan Georgia Senate Budget and Evaluation Office as Senior Program Analyst and Deputy Director before becoming Director in 2013. She previously held roles in Home Depot’s corporate compliance department and served as a performance auditor with the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts. DeBussey holds a bachelor’s degree in Public Policy from the Georgia Institute of Technology and served on the board of the National Association of Legislative Fiscal Offices. She and her husband, Jack, have one daughter.
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Learn from four professionals at the top of the home care industry with our three-part series that shares the secrets to success from people who know.
Each webinar will be a one-hour crash course in growing your agency. Sign up for one or for all three. Members: register for the entire three-part series for a discounted rate of $250, or register for the individual sessions below for $90 each. Part 1: Mindsets Matter on May 5 With Jeff Wiberg, Family Resource Home Care Part 2: Turn Fear into Action & Growth Will Come on June 9 With Andrea Cohen, Houseworks and Adam Blecker, Seniors in Place Part 3: High Performing Environments Powered by Courageous Conversations on July 21 With Catherine Vergara, CareFor Ann Mellen and Burton Peebles of Polsinelli Law Firm will be cover mandates in the workplace, plus our roster of speakers will cover other employment topics like the employee retention credit, and recruitment and retention.
We'll also cover legislative and policy updates, have lunch, and spend time networking. Join us before space fills up for this full day on May 16 at Georgian Terrace Hotel.
The cost is $75 for members and $150 for non-members. Register now. The HCAOA Arizona Chapter will meet in-person from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. on May 11 at the Westin Phoenix Downtown Hotel. HCAOA CEO Vicki Hoak, CEO and VP, Government Relations Eric Reinarman, Esq., will be at the meeting in Phoenix to provide the inside scoop on all federal legislative and advocacy priorities, as well as what other states are doing that could be adapted in Arizona.
Other speakers include:
Lunch will be provided, and attendees will have the opportunity to network with colleagues and vendors. The registration fee is $40 for HCAOA members and $80 for non-members. Register here. Home care providers in Washington should plan to attend the one-day conference for the HCAOA Washington Chapter on Tuesday, May 24 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. You’ll learn the latest on employment issues and labor law, caregiver recruitment, tax credits available for home care agencies, and how technology is changing the business. The event includes lunch and plenty of opportunities to network.
Here’s what to expect:
Click here to download a printable conference flyer. A discounted overnight rate $174 is available for conference attendees at the Hilton Seattle Airport & Conference Center. Call (206) 244-4800 to reserve by May 2. Last week, more than 60 members of the HCAOA Connecticut Chapter met for a networking and education event, including a presentation by FordHarrison Attorney Sami Asaad on recent labor and employment laws affecting home care agencies such as salary range disclosure, wage history and age disclosure bans, and paid family and medical leave. Eric Reinarman, Esq., Vice President of Government Relations for HCAOA, provided an update on advocacy and the status of federal legislation, including the President’s 2023 budget proposal, workforce training and immigration reform. Marlene Chickerella, managing partner of B&M Homemaking in West Haven and chair of the Chapter’s DSS Medicaid Committee, discussed the status of Medicaid reimbursement and the committee’s efforts in advocating successfully for an increase in rates for home care providers. HCAOA Connecticut lobbyist Matthew Hallisey discussed the status of the Chapter’s legislative and public policy priorities and how members can participate in the Chapter’s advocacy program. With only a couple of weeks remaining in the regular legislative session (it adjourns Wednesday, May 4), he urged attendees to contact their legislators directly or through the HCAOA legislative alert and urge them to oppose House Bill 5332. The bill would ban nonsolicitation agreements in home care. The program was sponsored by Sensi.ai, an in-home virtual care-agent. The next meeting for the CT Chapter is Wednesday, May 18 at 12 p.m. ET via Zoom for a discussion of making the Medicaid program more sustainable featuring Department of Social Services officials. Click here for details. California Assemblymember Blanca Rubio, a Democrat from the San Gabriel Valley, recently introduced AB2175, which would establish a California Wandering Prevention Task Force.
Individuals with a cognitive impairment, including those with Alzheimer’s, related dementias, and autism are at a substantial risk of wandering away from their homes. Ensuring safety for these populations is costly, time consuming, and often results in poor outcomes once they have begun to wander. AB2175 seeks to provide a statewide strategy to help one of California’s most vulnerable populations. The task force would include 20 members. The HCAOA California Chapter is working to ensure it has a seat on the task force so that our voice can be heard on this important issue. The HCAOA Michigan State Chapter is still hard at work trying to broker a fix to the automobile no-fault insurance bill that led to cuts of 45% or more in reimbursement rates for those providing home care to individuals who were catastrophically injured in car accidents. Next week, several HCAOA members will participate in over a dozen calls on this topic with members of the Michigan Legislature to help them understand how these cuts are hurting Michigan families and how the problem can be fixed.
In 2019, Michigan enacted reforms to their automobile no-fault insurance rubric that inadvertently resulted in reimbursement rate cuts to victims of serious car accidents. Home care companies were never the target of reform efforts in Lansing, and HCAOA is doing all it can to educate members of the Michigan Legislature on this issue. As an agency owner, not only are you struggling with recruitment and retention of caregivers, but you also must think about the future of your agency and the up-and-coming leaders who will manage your teams, make customers happy and help run your business. HCAOA’s Entrepreneur Leadership Academy can develop the next generation of leaders and instill confidence in your team.
The workshop is led by Dr. Tonya Miller, PT, DPT, PhD, an assistant professor in the physical therapy and MBA programs at Lebanon Valley College, and the founder of TYM Coaching. With 25+ years of experience in leadership, home care, and as a physical therapist, Dr. Miller will lead participants through the program with a combination of tools to ensure you will be successful, including:
Register today and start immediately. HCAOA members get a discounted rate of $999 (a savings of $201). Email [email protected] to get the code. You can start the program any time through September 30 and will have one year to complete from that date. Learn more. HCAOA recently submitted comments regarding COVID-19 workplace safety regulations to the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The comments focused on increasing employer flexibility in adhering to the regulations and helping OSHA understand that the services our members provide to clients don’t generally occur in what OSHA considers a typical “workplace.” HCAOA’s thoughts also focused on the need to continue to safeguard our caregivers from COVID-19 while reducing unnecessary regulatory burdens on our small businesses. For example, we emphasized minimizing recordkeeping and reporting provisions and easing other unnecessary restrictions contained in the current temporary rule. For the sake of clarity and consistency, our comments asked that OSHA better align its regulations with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations. To read the full text of HCAOA’s comment, please click here. U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-KS), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), and Jon Tester (D-MT), all members of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, recently introduced the bipartisan Elizabeth Dole Home and Community Based Services for Veterans and Caregivers Act to expand community-based services for aging and homebound veterans. The Act heavily invests in caregiver support at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and expands VA Home-Based Community Services nationwide. This legislation provides greater access to resources and helps to determine which services provide optimal support for the caregiver and their family as they navigate a complex web of available assistance.
HCAOA recently hosted a call with senior staff of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee to offer input on the bill and assistance with moving the legislation forward. More specifically, the Elizabeth Dole Home and Community Based Services for Veterans and Caregivers Act:
U.S. Representatives Jack Bergman (MI-01) and Julia Brownley (CA-26) introduced the companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives. HCAOA will continue to work with legislators and their staff in forming and implementing the legislation’s laudable goals. A new study based on the 2019 Medicare Current Beneficiary survey data shows that seniors using Medicare Advantage (MA) save nearly $2,000 in annual health care spending compared to traditional Medicare. The study shows MA beneficiaries report $1,965 less in annual out-of-pocket costs and premiums that fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries. The savings are found in cost-share and premium buy-downs provided by MA.
According to the report, released by Better Medicare Alliance, health care spending went up 5% for MA beneficiaries and 9% for fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries between 2018 and 2019. Having a lower average health care spend decreases the total percentage of income on health care costs for MA beneficiaries. The difference in cost burden is 13% for MA beneficiaries versus 20% for Medicare beneficiaries who pay privately. The costs variations are important to note because low-income Medicare beneficiaries are more likely to enroll in MA than those with a higher income. Read the report brief here. HCAOA members who completed the Entrepreneurship Academy learned how to turn complaints into collaboration with clients by using their feedback as a chance to strengthen your services.
Discover exactly how to do that in this one-year, self-paced program where you will learn real-life strategies for improving how you manage your business. The program includes online learning, weekly mini topics, and group coaching sessions where you can get actionable items to try in your daily activities. Instructor Dr. Tonya Y. Miller PT, DPT, PhD has more than 25 years of experience. This MBA style academy (at a fraction of the cost) provides insight into your behavioral tendencies and human interactions, enabling you to have a deeper understanding of yourself and how to engage others for successful outcomes. Register today and start immediately. HCAOA members get a discounted rate of $999 (a savings of $201). Email [email protected] to get the code. You can start the program any time through September 30 and will have one year to complete from that date. Find details here. Next Wednesday, April 20, the HCAOA Connecticut Chapter will meet in-person to discuss issues that impact agencies in YOUR state.
You need to attend the in-person meeting so hear about:
The agenda includes updates from:
Register now to attend on Wednesday, April 20 from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. at the Sheraton Hartford South Hotel. The cost is $40 for members and $80 for non-members. On April 6, 2022, Cal/OSHA issued a draft COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) for readoption to replace the current version, which expires on May 5, 2022.
This is the fourth version of the ETS since Nov. 30, 2022. The California Occupational and Health Standards Board is scheduled to hear public comment and to vote on whether to approve the readopted ETS on April 21, 2022. If approved, and if left unmodified by executive order, the proposed ETS would be in effect through December 31, 2022. Read more here. |
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