March 2020 Capitol Report Spotlights Home Care and COVID-19, Plus MRT II Proposals 

The March 2020 edition of HCA’s Capitol Report has several features about home care’s response and needs serving patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Home care is keeping many thousands of patients “from needing to go to the hospital or nursing home. They do so at quieter times or, as now, amid the din of a global health emergency like COVID-19 that is placing enormous new stresses on the health care system.” 

In short, “home care needs priority access to supplies, regulatory relief and financial assistance in its work at the front lines.” 

Another article, “COVID-19 Impact on Home Care by the Numbers,” quantifies those needs, drawing from an HCA survey which netted responses from over 300 providers. 

We also share some COVID-19 headlines about home care’s role and requests from City and State News, Home Health Care News, Crain’s Health Pulse, and a feature about UR Medicine Home Care’s Meals on Wheels program on WHAM13, the Rochester ABC affiliate. 

Reporting on the state budget, we note the “far-reaching consequences” of Medicaid Redesign Team (MRT) recommendations that “are speeded for state budget adoption without vetting, without transparency, at a time when providers are asked to take on overwhelming roles in the crushing global health crisis.” 

The MRT’s swift approval of recommendations impacting long term care prompted a statement to the media from HCA President Al Cardillo, covered by the New York Daily News and Politico New York.