Kathy Greenlee

Only three weeks into her tenure as HHS Assistant Secretary of Aging, Kathy Greenlee delivered the keynote address (doc) at this year’s annual conference of the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a) and used the opportunity to underscore the importance of home-based health care, including the caregivers who make it possible. Read the full story

Congresswoman Linda Sánchez

The Medicare Adult Day Care Services Act of 2009 (pdf), a bill that would expand options for home and community-based services, has been introduced into the U.S. House by Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-CA).

The bill would amend the Social Security Act to cover adult day care services under Medicare. Seniors and people with disabilities would then be able to choose whether to receive care at home or at an adult day care center. Read the full story

On June 11, a bill was introduced into both the U.S. House and Senate that promises to improve access to home and community-based services by generating Medicare and Medicaid savings and allowing more older Americans to receive health support in their homes.

“Project 2020: Building on the Promise of Home and Community-Based Services” was introduced on the Senate side as S. 1257 by Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), both key members of the Senate Finance Committee. On the House side, Reps. Bruce L. Braley (D-IA) and John Sarbanes (D-MD), both members of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, introduced the companion bill H.R. 2852.

The bill’s stated purpose is “To amend the Social Security Act to build on the aging network to establish long-term services and supports through single-entry point systems, evidence-based disease prevention and health promotion programs, and enhanced nursing home diversion programs.” Read the full story

Sens. Herb Kohl (D-WI) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA)

Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Herb Kohl (D-WI) have introduced the “Home and Community Balancing Incentives Act,” a bill that would offer enhanced federal Medicaid matching rates to states that are willing to implement home and community-based health care programs. Read the full story

The Maine State House in Augusta

Supporters of a bill that would transform Maine’s long-term care system by directing more state money toward home-based care rallied for a news conference at Maine’s State House on Monday, April 6.

The bill is sponsored by Rep. Matt Peterson, D-Rumford, and a bi-partisan list of co-sponsors. Its supporters include Maine’s AARP, the Office of Elder Services, the Maine Women’s Lobby, and the state’s personal care attendants — who say they think they would receive benefits and better pay if more state money went into home-based care (“Bill Aims to Overhaul Maine’s Long-Term Care System by July 2010,” Maine Public Broadcasting Network, April 6). Read the full story

The State House in Augusta, ME

Maine health care advocates are rallying in support of LD-400, a bill that would increase funding for home-based services and call on government agencies to develop a unified budget for the delivery of long-term care to elders and disabled adults (Bangor Daily News, March 3).

On March 3, advocates gathered in the state Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee room in Augusta to voice their support for the bill and for measures in general that would improve the state’s care for its elders. Read the full story