Home Care Daily - National Home Care Industry News

A home health care worker in Dallas was sentenced to 6 to 23 months in prison and ordered to pay $14,105.37 restitution to the widow of a former client. On December 4, 2017, the victim contacted police some time after her husband passed away in November and reported a number of items missing from the home.

As the federal government continues to crack down on home health care fraud across the country, states are also dealing with fraud at the local level. Massachusetts successfully charged a home agency owner with fraud and that owner, Elena Kurbatzky, 45, of Boston, was recently convicted of the seven charges levied against her.

Medical devices are becoming a more integral part of home health care throughout the country, and Congress recently voted with bipartisan support to cease a 2.3 tax imposed on medical devices enacted to help pay for the Affordable Care Act of 2010. The legislative move won’t have any direct and immediate impact on the industry, though, as a temporary block on this tax had already been in place since 2016, though that was set to expire next year.

According to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll, 6 in 10 Latinos report having a difficult time communicating with a health care provider. Of those surveyed, most reported that when they do have trouble, they turn to outside sources for help, which could be family or friends and sometimes others. Not only does this complicate the health care process (which could include home health care), it also diminishes privacy that is often taken for granted by others.

A mock signing of new legislation in Rhode Island took place recently that will provide a registry for home care providers in the state. On the surface, this legislation may appear to be a great resource and benefit for elderly and disabled adults throughout the state who require in home care support, but opponents to the legislation have marked it another union supporting tool.

A ballot measure in Maine is starting to ramp up with rhetoric from both sides of the argument. This measure, though, would directly affect the in-home care industry throughout the state and impose a 3.8% tax increase on the highest earners, those reporting more than $128,400 per year.

It’s no secret that the Baby Boomer generation constitutes a large section of the U.S. population. Those born shortly after the end of World War II and the mid-1960s are considered ‘baby boomers’ and while they have witnessed many changes throughout their lifetime, it’s the one thing that could be coming that causes concern: the cost of long-term care.

The battle over public unions and whether they can compel employees to pay monthly fees, and even whether they can opt out of the union altogether (while still benefitting from increased wages and benefits negotiated with the state by the unions) is a topic that’s running rampant in this country. There are numerous men and women considered public workers and within the home care field, the vast majority of those taking care of disabled or elderly adults at home are family members.