June bulletin

A Monthly Update for Home Care Providers from the California Association for Health Services at Home
CCAHSAH
AHSAH bulletin June 2007
bulletin
US Supreme Court Makes Decision on Home Care Overtime Exemption
This June, the United States’ Supreme
Court unanimously ruled in favor of seniors
and providers to uphold the 1975 Labor
Department regulation exempting home
care companions from overtime rules under
the federal “companionship exemption.”
The federal companionship exemption
specifically exempts companions from
being paid overtime. The United States
Department of Labor’s regulations interpret
the companionship exemption to apply to
third party organizations. These
regulations were challenged by Evelyn
Coke in the case, Long Island Care at
Home, et al. v. Coke. Coke is a former
home care worker who filed a lawsuit in
New York against Long Island Care at
Home, challenging the Department of
Labor’s regulations which exempt
companion workers working for third
party organizations from the payment of
overtime and minimum wage.
The Court of Appeals for the Second
Circuit, which has jurisdiction over the
states of New York, Connecticut, and
Vermont, ruled that home care aides were
to be paid overtime for their
“companionship services” and excluded
third party providers in these
continued on page 18
Federal Home Infusion Bill Introduced
“The Medicare Home Infusion Therapy
Coverage Act of 2007,” H.R. 2567, was
introduced by Representatives Eliot Engel
(D-NY), Kay Granger (R-TX), Tammy
Baldwin (D-WI), Chip Pickering (R-MS),
Randy Kuhl (R-NY) and John Tierney (DMA) to close the gap in Medicare drug
coverage. Decades ago, intravenous
treatment could only be delivered in
hospitals, but years of private sector
experience demonstrate that the best results
can be achieved for the patient if the
medications are provided in the home.
Unfortunately, Medicare beneficiaries are
being denied access to home infusion
therapy simply because Part D will not pay
for the professional services, equipment
and supplies necessary to safely
administer the treatment in the home. The
result is that Medicare beneficiaries are
being forced back into hospitals and
nursing homes for treatment at greater
cost to the program and significant
inconvenience to the patients and their
families. Rep.Engel, who introduced the
bill, is committed to the passage of this bill.
He says, “Medicare will not be able to
deliver on its promise of quality care as
long as home infusion therapy remains
inaccessible.” CAHSAH tracked a similar
bill last year, H.R. 5791, which was
sponsored by the same five
Representatives, and had 42 co-sponsors.
H.R. 2567, which has only 8 co-sponsors
to date, would cover home infusion
supplies, equipment, and professional
services under Part B. Go to: http://
June 2007
State Budget Update
The constitutional deadline for the
Legislature to send the 2007-08 State
Budget to the Governor came and went on
June 15th. Despite this, the Legislative
Conference Committee approved $2.6
million to offset fee increases for home
health and hospice providers, as well as
other providers. The new fee increase is
effective July 1, 2007, provided the
Governor signs the Budget on time, and
each home health agency will pay
$3,876.23 per home health parent, branch
or transaction for an increase of $1,176.23
from our current home health agency
licensing fee of $2,700. Hospices licensing
fees actually went down $272.00 with the
allocation of the $2.6 million in general
fund money from currently paying $1,000
to $727.96 per hospice, alternate location,
or transaction. Had we not received this
General Fund money, the home health
licensing fee would have been $4,380.18
($1,680.18 increase) per home health
parent, branch or transaction rather than
$3,876.23. The Governor’s 2007-08 State
Budget originally proposed $5,568.93, an
$2,868.93 increase. Had we not received
this General Fund money, the hospice
licensing fee would have been $1,260.71
for a $260.71 fee increase. The Governor’s
State Budget proposal was $2,517.39 per
hospice, alternate location or transaction
or a $1,517.39 increase. The Governor could
still remove the $2.6 million in GF
allocation, therefore it is important to keep
up the pressure on the Governor’s office by
continued on page 8
www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h1102567 to download the full language of H.R.
2567.
CAHSAH’s 2007 Annual
Conference and Home
Care Expo Wrap-Up Starts
on page 9
Inside . . .
Vol. 23, Number 6
CAHSAH Business Corner .......... 2
Bill Watch ........................................ 6
Conference Wrap-Up ................... 9
Classified ......................................... 15
The California Association for Health Services at Home is dedicated to promoting quality
home care and enhancing the effectiveness of its members.
2
CAHSAH bulletin June 2007
CAHSAH Business Corner
Congratulations to the Education
Resource Needs Survey Winner!
by CAHSAH Controller, Kristine Fitzpatrick
(A CAHSAH exclusive business column with timely advice on upcoming business deadlines
and forms related to accounting and human resource issues.)
Free Tax Assistance for Employers
Are you experiencing a tax problem? If you have tried working through the agency’s
normal resolution channels and need help unraveling your California or federal
problem, the government has a Taxpayer Advocacy person that may be able to help.
It is the role of the Taxpayer Advocate to help resolve a tax problem when normal
channels fail. The Taxpayer Advocate can help when there is a breakdown in tax
processing or communication. The chart below contains the contact information for
the Taxpayer Advocate.
Tax
Contact
•
•
•
Sales and Use Taxes
Property Taxes
Special Taxes and Fees
Board of Equalization
Taxpayer’s Rights Advocate, MIC 70
P.O. Box 942879
Sacramento, CA 94279-0070
www.boe.ca.gov/tra/tra.htm
Advocate’s Office: 888-324-2798
BOE Information Center: 800-400-7115
•
•
•
Unemployment Insurance
Employment Training Tax
State Disability Insurance
Employment Development Department
(EDD)
Taxpayer Advocate Office
P.O. Box 826880, MIC 93
Sacramento, CA 94280-0001
www.edd.ca.gov/taxrep/taxetpro.htm
Advocate’s Office: 888-594-4177
Taxpayer Assistance: 888-746-3886
• Personal Income Tax
• Franchise Tax
• Bank Tax
• Corporation Income Tax
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Social Security Tax and
Medicare Tax
Federal Unemployment (FUTA)
Tax
Individual Tax
Corporate Tax
Partnership Tax
Estate Tax
Nonprofit and Charitable
Organization Tax
Franchise Tax Board (FTB)
Taxpayer Advocate Bureau
P.O. Box 157
Rancho Cordova, CA 95741-0157
www.ftb.ca.gov/aboutFTB/
taxpayer_advocate/index.html
Advocate’s Office: 800-883-5910
Taxpayer Services: 800-852-5711
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
To find the appropriate taxpayer advocate,
see the IRS Web site:
www.irs.gov/advocate
Advocate’s Office: 877-777-4778
Business Tax Help: 800-829-4933
Thanks to all those who participated
in the Education Resource Needs
Survey at the CAHSAH Annual
Conference in Riverside.
Congratulations to Sharon Hunter of
the Hospice of Humboldt. Sharon’s
name was picked at random out of all
the completed Education Resources
Needs Surveys to receive a
complimentary registration to a oneday CAHSAH Workshop. Sharon,
thank you for filling out the Education
Needs Resource Survey. We look
forward to seeing you soon!
Join CAHSAH !
As a CAHSAH member, you already know
the value of membership benefits, so now
is the perfect opportunity to spread the
word – encourage your peers to become a
CAHSAH member by July 13 to receive 60
percent off dues and be included in the 2008
Resource Guide.
There’s no better time than now to gain the
value of membership at 60 percent off!
Membership details can be found at
www.cahsah.org or by calling (916) 6415795, ext. 114.
CAHSAH. . . it’s where you belong!
CAHSAH
bulletin
Volume 22, Number 6
June 2006
The California Association for Health
Services at Home (CAHSAH) is a
nonprofit association dedicated to
promoting quality home care and
enhancing the effectiveness of its
members.
JOSEPH H. HAFKENSCHIEL
President
[email protected]
NATHAN CARLSON
Editor
[email protected]
The CAHSAH bulletin is published monthly by:
California Association for Health Services at Home
3780 Rosin Court, Sacramento, CA 95834
Telephone: (916) 641-5795 Fax: (916) 641-5881
Web site: www.cahsah.org
CAHSAH does not necessarily endorse any of the
products, services or meetings advertised in the bulletin.
CAHSAH also does not endorse the opinions, products or services
of guest authors in the bulletin.
3
CAHSAH bulletin June 2007
Getting to Know Your Board
Kevin Schrum, Executive Director,
Hospice Care of the West
Kevin Schrum, Executive Director of
Hospice Care of the West, is new to the
CAHSAH Board of Directors this year. He
decided to become a member because he
wanted to participate in the future role and
direction of the industry. Kevin has been
pleased with CAHSAH’s “proactive
stance on shaping the legislative and
regulatory landscape on behalf of its
membership.” Joining the Board of
Directors allows Kevin to actively
contribute to the process and network with
colleagues from across the state.
Medicare certified, private duty and home
care aide organizations. Kevin believes
having an understanding of the spectrum
of home care services is beneficial. He
notes that even though the various sections
of home care alike, they are also very
different. Since Kevin began in the industry
in 1989, he has seen many changes. For
example, consumers are now entitled to
the hospice benefit. He has also seen an
increasing awareness of the hospice
benefit and the needs of the patients that
are served. Kevin believes that the shortage
of registered nurses is the greatest
challenge to the future of the industry.
Outside of work, Kevin has been a
professional handler and breeder of Giant
Schnauzers for over 25 years. He has
campaigned dogs ranking in the top five
nationally, with major wins at
Westminster-Madison Square Gardens.
Kevin Schrum
Executive Director
Hospice Care of the West, LLC
27442 Portola Parkway, #200
Foothill Ranch, CA 92610
(949) 282-5948 Phone
(949) 282-5804 Fax
Kevin has been in the home care industry
for 18 years, with experience in hospice,
LA County Agency Indicted In Medicare Billing Scheme
A fraudulent Medicare billing scheme
was uncovered at a Los Angeles County
home health agency— United Life Home
Health. In May, a federal grand jury in Los
Angeles returned an indictment charging
Lualhati Colgrove, 58, of Rancho Palos
Verdes; Albert Ulit, 47, of Lomita; and
Merlinda Soreno, 58, with multiple counts
of health care fraud. According to the
indictment, the scheme to defraud
Medicare involved the illegal recruitment
of Medicare beneficiaries and the
fraudulent billing of services which were
not necessary or were never provided by
United Life Home Health, a home health
agency operated by defendant Colgrove.
Between January 2002 and December 2004,
United Life Home Health, Inc. was paid
in excess of $9 million by Medicare. During
the conspiracy, United Life allegedly billed
Medicare for home health services to
Medicare beneficiaries who were visited
by unlicensed nurses, as well as those
who did not receive all of the reported
home health services. United Life nurses
and employees would falsify required
forms to make it appear as though the
beneficiaries were confined to the home or
otherwise needed skilled nursing and
therapy services. In order to find patients,
United Life would pay marketers,
including nursing registries that act as
marketers, to recruit Medicare beneficiaries
who were willing to sign up for home
health services. In the scheme, unlicensed
nurses would make visits to patients but
would not sign the nursing notes reflecting
their visits. Instead, properly licensed
nurses would falsify nursing notes to
indicate that they made the patient visits
themselves. If you suspect Medicare fraud,
report your concerns to the Office of
Inspector General by calling this hotline:
1-800-HHS-TIPS.
Workers’ Compensation Rates
Recommended to Decrease
The State Compensation Insurance Fund
(SCIF) filed their workers’ compensation
insurance rates for employer’s renewing
or new workers’ compensation policies
with anniversary rating dates on or after
July 1, 2007 on May 29, 2007. The average
decrease in workers’ compensation
premiums for all employers filed was 11
percent. This comes on the heels of the
Workers Compensation Insurance Rating
Bureau advisory rating of 11.3 percent and
the California Insurance Commissioner
approved 14.2 percent decrease in advisory
pure premium rates, which are the
recommendations to the industry on how
to adjust their rates for new and renewal
policies with anniversary rating dates on
or after July 1, 2007. SCIF is recommending
a pure premium rate of $8.76/$100 of
payroll for the home care classification
code of ‘8827.’ This is a decrease of $3.25/
$100 of payroll from last year’s
recommended $12.01. This equates to a 27
percent drop in recommended fees for
home
care
providers.
This
recommendation is before the application
of debits, credits and experience
modification.
Providers who renewed on January 1,
2007 will not be impacted at this time, but
will likely see a similar decreased rate from
their current rate of $9.58/$100 of payroll
before debits, credits and experience
modifications. Traditionally SCIF is the
carrier of last resort for home care agencies
and other employers who cannot get any
other carrier to cover their organization.
However, it serves as a benchmark for
what carriers might use to develope their
pure premium rates. It is a very encouraging
sign that SCIF has taken this pure premium
rate reduction and we expect other carriers
to follow. As experts in the Healthcare
industry, Heffernan Insurance Brokers is
actively working on creative solutions to
not only reap the above noted premium
savings but also reduce your overall risk
exposure. To learn more about workers’
compensation insurance, go to: http://
www.heffgroup.com/hg.php?page=healthcare.
4
CAHSAH bulletin June 2007
Eight U.S. Representatives and Two U.S. Senators
Sign-on to Oppose Medicare Cuts
Throughout June, CAHSAH has been
working on a federal campaign that we
launched to oppose Medicare cuts to the
home health care and hospice benefit.
CAHSAH’s goal is to get 15percent of
California’s 53 delegates to sign-on to a
letter opposing Medicare cuts to home
health and hospice by the July 4th
Congressional Recess. The Ways and
Means Health Subcommittee Chairman
Pete Stark is preparing legislation to
reauthorize SCHIP as well as a two-year
fix to the scheduled 10 percent Medicare
physicians’ fee cut, which is scheduled to
go into effect January 2008. With the “twoyear” physician fee language, Mr. Stark’s
legislation will likely cost $100 billion. To
offset these costs, there may be a new
cigarette tax, cuts to payments in the
Medicare Advantage program, as well as
other Medicare providers including home
health and hospice. The legislation is
expected to be introduced after the July 4th
recess.
As of June 25, 2007, eight of 53
Congressional Delegates and two U.S.
Senators have signed on to oppose
Medicare cuts to the home health and
hospice benefit. The U.S. Representatives
who have signed-on to the letter include:
Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (D-16th)
covering San Jose and the Silicon Valley,
Sam Farr (D-17th) with district offices in
Salinas and Santa Cruz, Congressman
Tom Lantos (D-12th) with a district office
in San Mateo, Congressman Howard
Berman (D-28th) with a district office in
Van Nuys, Congressman Dennis Cardoza
(D-18th) with district offices in Merced
and Modesto, Congresswoman Maxine
Waters (D-35th) with a district office in
Los Angeles, Congresswoman Doris
Matsui (D-5th) with a district office in
Sacramento, and Congressman Gerald
McNerney (D-11th) with a district office
in Pleasanton. Additionally, both of
California’s U.S. Senators, Senator Barbara
Boxer (D) and Diane Feinstein (D) have
also agreed to sign-on to the letter.
CAHSAH has mailed, faxed and emailed
each of the 53 California Delegates, asking
them to sign on to the letter opposing
Medicare cuts. We are requesting
CAHSAH members to set up an
appointment in their Representative’s
district office to ask them to sign-on to the
letter opposing Medicare cuts to home
health and hospice. For assistance in
making an appointment at your
Representative’s District Office, please visit
http://www.cahsah.org/GrassRoots/2007/
Meeting%20with%20State%20Legislators.pdf. If
you are unable to arrange a meeting in the
District Office, please send a letter to your
Representative by visiting CAHSAH’s
State Advocacy webpage http://
www.cahsah.org/stateadvocacy/
stateadvocacy.asp, and click on the Legislative
Action Network (on the top, right-hand
column). CAHSAH will be continuing
this campaign to oppose Medicare cuts to
the home health and hospice benefit until
the Congress takes action on this issue. If
you need any assistance contacting your
representative, call Jetta Meadows at (916)
641-5795 ext. 124, or email at:
[email protected].
CAHSAH GROUP PURCHASING PROGRAMS:
• Heffernan Insurance Brokers - Workers’ Compensation and Liability
Insurance (800) 234- 6787
• Outcome Concept Systems, Inc. (OCS) - Benchmarking
(800) 325-3396
• McKesson Corporation - Disposable Medical Supplies
(800) 328-8111, ext. 512
• InfoLink Screening Services, Inc. - Pre- employment Background Screening
(800) 234-4473
• Strategic HR Services - Human Resources Services
(800) 789-5655
CA Home Care Agencies Selected
for National Technology and
Telehealth Study
Philips, the National Association for
Home Care, and Fazzi Associates in
conjunction with most state home care
associations have launched a national
study of the future of technology and
telehealth in home care. This exciting study
will provide information on the present
and future use and value of technology,
particularly telehealth. The findings from
this study will be made available at no cost
to the entire industry in a report that will
be issued later this year.
We are excited to announce that 159
agencies from California were selected
through random sampling of over 6000
agencies nationwide to participate in the
study. These agencies will be contacted by
telephone starting next week and asked to
respond to a brief 15 minute telephone
survey. You don’t have to be an expert on
this subject nor do you need to have a
telehealth service. Many of the questions
have to do with your perspective on the
future use of these technologies
If your agency is contacted, we strongly
encourage you to respond to the survey
and provide your feedback on issues
related to technology in home care. All
agencies that participate in the study will
receive an advance copy of the report and
more importantly, a private free teletraining
on the results of the national study
including concrete recommendations on
which technologies were found to have
the greatest impact on quality and/or
financial outcomes.
With your support and participation we
can be assured that California is
represented in this exciting national study.
For more information about the study,
contact Lindsay Doak, Marketing and
Project Coordinator for Fazzi Associates,
at [email protected] or visit www.fazzi.com.
because we know the
healing power of
WELCOME HOME
A strong healthcare provider is essential to
any community. Come join our team at
Mercy Medical Center-Merced and be a
part of our future.
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR;
HOME CARE
Full-Time
Position Summary: Provides direct and indirect
supervision of field staff and evaluates their
compliance with regulatory requirements in
the provision of services. Researches and
resolves problems of compliance-related
issues. Clinical resource for field staff.
Qualifications: BS in Nursing, CA RN, BLS,
two years of supervisory experience in home
health agencies, stong communication skills,
CA DL and proof of auto insurance.
Desired: Knowledge of Medicare, Medi-Cal,
private insurance, management care
reimbursement, home care governmental
regulations and insurance.
$7,500 SIGN ON BONUS!
We offer Competitive Salaries w/a FREE
Medical Plan Option for employees and
their dependants, Dental and Vision benefits,
Retirement Plan, and much more!
Please respond by phone, fax or email to:
Human Resources
301 E. 13th Street
Merced, CA 95340
Phone: 209-384-6523
Fax: 209-384-6696
[email protected]
w w w. m e r c y m e r c e d c a r e s . o r g
EOE © 2007 Catholic Healthcare West.
6
CAHSAH bulletin June 2007
CAHSAH 2007 Bill Watch
Two of CAHSAH’s sponsored bills were passed off the Assembly floor early
this month. AB 1434 (Dymally) passed off the floor on a 65-9 vote, with six
Assembly Members not voting. AB 993 (Aghazarian) passed off the floor
unanimously, with two Assembly Members not voting. AB 993 was heard
in the Senate Health Committee and passed out. AB 1434 will be heard in the
Senate Health Committee in July. CAHSAH’s other sponsored bill, AB 853
(Jones), which requires private sector organizations providing non-medical
home care services to be licensed by the Department of Social Services (DSS),
is now a two year bill. The grid below presents CAHSAH’s ‘A’ priority bills
that have a support or oppose position. To review all other bills that CAHSAH
is tracking, or to take action on bills, please visit CAHSAH’s State Advocacy
website. See below for important Legislative deadlines:
July 4, 2007
July 13, 2007
July 20, 2007
Bill Number
Priority
Independence Day
Last day for policy committees to hear and report bills
Summer recess begins
Description
Position
Status
AB 8
(Nunez)
A
The California Assembly Speaker’s bill to implement health care reform in
California. The Speaker’s proposal requires all workers (including part-time)
workers and their dependents to have health insurance. Employers would be
required to provide employee health coverage or pay a fee based on a percentage
of their payroll into a pool. Health coverage would be a Section 125 plan. Firms
with less than 2 workers with payroll of $100,000 or less and new firms with less
than three business years are excluded. Individuals who are not employed
would not be required to have health care coverage.
Oppose
Senate
Health
Committee
AB 364
(Berg)
A
Would require hospital discharge policy to inform the patient of the
availability of home and community-based options prior to discharge, and
would require that prior to a transfer of an older adult patient to any skilled
nursing facility, the patient be assessed by a preadmission screening to ensure
the appropriateness of the proposed skilled nursing facility placement.
Support
Dead, or two
year bill
A
Authorizes Physician Assisted Suicide for a terminally ill adult determined by
his or her attending physician and a consulting physician to be suffering from a
terminal disease to make a written request using a specified form and two oral
requests for medication to end his or her life.
Oppose
Dead
AB 749
(Berg)
A
Would allow residential care facility for the elderly to admit or retain a person who
is bedridden, and/or if he or she is receiving hospice care to ameliorate the problem
of fire marshals in local communities from requiring RCFEs to discharge terminally
ill and bed ridden patients to SNF when they have no authority to do so.
Support
In Senate
AB 853
(Jones)
A
AB 853 would create the Home Care Services Act of 2007 to require
organizations providing home care services, which include activities of daily
living, to be licensed. Home care aide organizations must ensure that
background checks, evaluation, training, and supervision are completed and
that policies and procedures, including clients rights were communicated to
the consumer. The bill also provides for a website to list the licensed home care
aide organizations. Department of Social Services would provide the oversight
of these provisions.
Support
Two Year Bill
Held in Assembly
Appropriations
A
A CAHSAH sponsored bill to create timelines and accountabilities for the Department
of Public Health, Licensing and Certification to be required to notify applicants for
all types of licensure and certification and CHOW of any deficiencies of the application
with 30 days of its receipt and to conduct a licensure survey, if necessary, within 60
calendar days after receiving the application. Certification surveys shall be conducted
within 60 days after the licensure survey and a readiness letter is sent to the
Department. The agency shall forward all paperwork to the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services (CMS), if necessary, within 30 calendar days of the final survey.
Creates penalties when the Department does not observe the required timelines.
Allows for accrediting bodies to conduct the initial licensure survey and requires the
department to mail agencies licenses within 30 days of payment. Removes the acrossthe-board licensure fee to a tiered fee.
Support
In Senate
Appropriations
Committee
AB 374
(Berg)
CAHSAH
Sponsored
Bill
AB 993
(Aghazarian)
CAHSAH
Sponsored
Bill
Held in Health h
Committee
Floor
7
CAHSAH bulletin June 2007
CAHSAH 2007 Bill Watch
Bill Number
Priority
Description
Position
Status
A
Establishes a Medi-Cal home health agency rate methodology beginning July 1,
2008 for a per-visit basis and an hourly basis. Visit rates will reflect 100
percent of the state-wide average using Medicare Cost Report data projected to
July 1, 2008. Hourly rates will be set using state-wide average salary survey
for home health disciplines in hospitals, nursing homes and home health
agencies, projected to July 1, 2008 The rates paid by visit and hour shall be
updated annually to adjust for inflation using the Medicare market basket
index and the methodology shall be adjusted once every three years.
Support
In Senate
Health
Committee
A
Would require the State Department of Social Services to conduct a pilot project
in 5 applying counties, to give certain IHSS recipients the choice of self-directing
their care with an existing provider, or using the support of a home care agency.
Support
In Senate
Human
Services
A
This bill has been merged into AB8 (Nunez)
Oppose
Assembly
Approps.
Suspense file
SB 349
(Perata)
A
Would declare the Legislature’s intent to implement comprehensive reforms of
the health care coverage system.
Oppose
Assembly
Rules
SB 462
(Torlakson)
A
Would permit a licensed and certified hospice provider to deliver hospice
inpatient care in a free-standing license facility or within an existing licensed
health facility or residential care facility for the elderly that meets specified
standards.
Support
Assembly
Health
Committee
SB 633
(Alquist)
A
Would expand the Multipurpose Senior Services Program and the Linkages
Program and other case management programs, establish a prescribed hospital
discharge planning process, and provide a skilled nursing facility notice and
disclosure process.
Support
Senate
Approps.
AB 1434
CAHSAH
Sponsored Bill
AB 1674
(Richardson)
SB 48
(Perata)
Committee
SB 757
(Ridley
Thomas)
A
The annual Budget Act for 2003 provided for a loan of $150,000,000 to the General
Fund from the California Teleconnect Fund Administrative Committee Fund.
Allows the California Teleconnect Fund Administrative Committee to establish,
until January 1, 2014, a Community Based Supplemental Education
Demonstration Grant Program and a Telemedicine Demonstration Grant Program
using $150 million appropriation from the 2003 Budget. Awards under the grant
programs would be for the purpose of providing advanced telecommunications
network services to health care facilities that provide telemedicine services. Health
care facilities include hospices but not home health agencies. Home health needs to
be added as a type of facility that can receive monies.
Support
Dead or two
year bill
AB 363
(Berg)
A
Would specify the circumstances under which a federally qualified health center
(clinic) may receive enhanced reimbursement from the Medi-Cal program for
specialty care services provided to Medi-Cal beneficiaries off-site rather than in
the clinic, which are approved by the Medi-Cal Director. FQHC providers can not
bill for RN or LVN services, which trigger the requirement for HHA licensure.
Oppose
unless
Amended
In Senate
Appropriations
Committee
AB 735
(Keene)
A
Would require persons who are not United States citizens to pay a fee and
obtain a California Work Permit in order to be legally employed in the state. The
Division of Labor Standards Enforcement of the Department of Industrial
Relations would enforce these provisions.
Support
Dead or a
two year bill
AB 1427
(Krekorian)
A
This bill would require the department, from July 1, 2008 to June 30, 2011, to establish
a developmental services training pilot program using the Quality Improvement Fund,
which would be established by the bill, to incentivize, reimburse, and assess the use of
recognized training resources for direct support workers in consumer-directed services.
These services can be provided to the developmental population by an individual, or
an agency. Agencies providing services to these recipients must qualify by getting
certified in addition to being vendored by the Regional Center. Individuals providing
services do not have such requirements. There are six extensive criteria for an agency to
be able to participate. If the agency meets extensive training requirements, the regional
center can recommend the agency receive a 5% to 10% augmentation in Rates. The
requirements in this bill are too stringent for agencies, and will preclude agencies from
participating.
Oppose
Senate Human
Services
8
CAHSAH bulletin June 2007
Register for Hospice
Benchmarking
In May 2005, the Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services (CMS) published
proposed Medicare Hospice Benefit
Conditions of Participation (CoP), which
included a new requirement for hospices
to develop, implement, and maintain an
effective, data-driven quality assessment
and performance improvement (QAPI)
program. CAHSAH has developed a
resource to help hospice providers be
compliant with the federal Hospice
regulations; the final rule will be released
this fall. The regulations will require quality
indicators for hospices— with only 60
days to comply. The Benchmarking
Program is the first resource for California
hospices to benchmark against their peers,
locally, statewide, and nationally.
CAHSAH has worked with OCS to offer
this tool for our hospice providers to collect
and measure 13 quality indicators in three
areas: Quality Outcomes (5 measures),
Patient Volume and Mix (5 measures), and
Quality Operations (3 measures). The
program was designed to be consistent
with the ongoing development of national
standards of quality and measurement,
including the NHPCO Quality Initiative,
the National Quality Forum (NQF)
framework and measure development, and
NAHC quality efforts. The first set of
QAPI Snapshot reports – for Q4 2006 and
the full year 2006 are now available for all
participating agencies. To view your
reports, please visit www.perforum.net/
SnapshotSurvey.html and login as you do to
submit data. Contact the OCS QAPI Help
Desk with questions by email at
[email protected], and by telephone at (603)
795-4802.
Twenty California hospices have already
signed up and are currently submitting
their data. To secure an affordable means
to benchmark your hospice for quality and
ensure compliance with the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services, please
review and register at http://
www.cahsah.org/hospice/
BenchMHospice.asp. At this website, you
can download the order form, a sample of
a QAPI snapshot, and the Snapshot
Interpretation Guide.
State Budget Update
continued from page 1
sending a letter to his office as explained
below.
In addition to the $2.6 million, the
Legislature agreed with CAHSAH to
subsidize the licensing and certification
fees for 2007-08 with $7 million “left over”
in unspent funds for employees, as well as
ensure that all late fee payment penalties,
new licensure applications and change of
ownership applications would be applied
back to the appropriate fee categories in
determining Licensing and Certification
Program Fees. For example, any late fee
paid for home health in the 2006-07 Budget
year would be applied to all home health
agency fees in the 2008-09 Budget year to
offset increases for all home health
agencies. The Legislature also agreed to
have Department of Finance Office of
Statewide Audits and Evaluations (OSAE)
review the L&C Methodology in a report
due to the Department of Public Health by
February 1st. The report would review the
current methodology used by DPH to
compute the L&C fees and would review
the fees reflecting the diversity of the
providers being surveyed, the different
type of workload requirements of each
provider, how the staff allocate and charge
their timekeeping system to develop data
to apply the data to facility types for fee
calculation. CAHSAH currently has a similar
proposal regarding reflection of workload in
licensing fees in our bill, AB 993 (Aghazarian).
The Conference Committee also voted to
allow home health providers to have
flexibility to re-structure their licensing
fees from a flat fee to tiered fees provided it
remains budget neutral and only affects
our provider group, and phased-in the
provider fees over at least four years
through the 2009-10 State Budget. It is
important to note that, Senator Denise
Ducheny (D-San Diego) pushed for
providers receiving this money, as she
was concerned about access to services.
Additionally, Senate and Assembly staff
spent a lot of time working with CAHSAH
this year to try and come up with a more
equitable situation. The vote for these
Licensing and Certification items were
along party lines, with the Senate and
Assembly Democrats voting in favor of the
items, and the Republicans voting against
the Budget items. All of these items are
contingent on the Governor signing the
Budget, but this is likely to be the final
compromise on Budget Licensing and
Certification. Please go to: http://
www.congressweb.com/cweb4/
index.cfm?orgcode=NAHC-CA and send an
e-mail to the Governor supporting the
Licensing and Certification Fee Items for
Home Care providers and send a support
letter to the members of the committee who
supported the $2.6 million in General Fund
support for home health and hospice
providers.
California Children’s Services (CCS)
As part of the State Budget to be submitted
to the Governor, there is state law that
would mandate the California Children’s
Services (CCS) program to work with
children’s hospitals, home health, durable
medical equipment providers and others
to resolve growing problems with timely
discharge of CCS beneficiaries from
hospitals due to lack of access to providers
of durable medical equipment, medical
supplies and home health services.
Consideration should be given to utilizing
the individual patient discharge plan
initiated by a CCS paneled physician as an
authorization for services for up to 90 days
and to the timely approval for authorization
of services to permit discharge of the CCS
beneficiary from the hospital setting within
48 hours. Meetings with the Department
have already begun and we will be
reporting back any information and
findings. CAHSAH currently is also
working with the Payment Systems
Division to remedy long-standing billing
issues under the Medi-Cal program,
including billing two procedure codes in
the same day for two different services
rendered on the same day or the evaluation
with a skilled nursing visit, and the
problems with re-billing Other Health Care
Insurance for each billing cycle.
Join the CAHSAH List Serve!
Visit www.cahsah.org/
listserve.asp to sign up today!
CAHSAH’s 2007 Annual
Conference and Home Care
Expo Wrap-Up
More than 400 paid registrants from various home care and hospice
agencies across California and several other states gathered together for
the 2007 Annual Conference in Riverside, California from May 16-18.
The evening before the conference, over 100 people made time to attend
a welcome reception which boasted a variety of hors d’oeuvres and hosted
bars. This was a great opportunity for attendees to come together to network
and meet new and old friends. It also gave attendees the chance to check
in and get their registration materials.
The conference kicked off with a full breakfast buffet and an opening
general session with Bill Dombi of the National Association for Home
Care & Hospice (NAHC), who presented the keynote address: Home Care
2007: Trends and Developments. As Vice President for Health Care Law,
Dombi spoke on the evolution of home care, reviewing current legislation,
labor shortage issues, referral struggles and opportunity for diversification
and new ventures. Dombi noted that though change was slow, it was
inevitable.
Attendees divided into six breakout rooms for the first set of concurrent
sessions, then broke out for the annual business luncheon. After lunch, the
attendees reconvened in the break out rooms for the rest of the day.
On Thursday, for the first time in CAHSAH history, the keynote session
addressed how Palliative Care is no longer restricted just to hospice. In Dr.
Brad Stuart’s keynote address on Heading Home: New Directions in End
of Life Care, he revealed the significance of bridging the gap to promote
transitions in care. Dr. Stuart relayed the importance of keeping homebased care through use of AIM (Advanced Illness Management).
Attendees participated in break out sessions mid morning then gathered
at lunch to honor the award recipients who were recognized for their
contribution to the home care industry. The award categories consisted of
the Home Care Service Award, Physician of the Year Award, Lois C. Lillick
Award, Home Care Nursing Scholarship, and the Aide to RN Nursing
Scholarship.
Dessert was once again held inside the exhibit hall, giving attendees one
on one time with vendors. Once the afternoon sessions were over, attendees
were drawn back into the exhibit hall. The finale featured prizes donated
from vendors and CAHSAH. Upon gathering information on the latest
goods and services available to home care providers, attendees redirected
to the Mission Inn for the PAC event dinner and entertainment.
On the last day of the conference, Heather Rooney of H2 Marketing kicked
off the morning by sharing her take on a Defining Moment in Home Care.
She focused on strategic positioning for agencies in light of emerging
trends. Rooney also discussed achieving success using four elements;
vision, leadership, strategy and execution.
The session that drew the largest crowd on the last day was a session
presented by Paul Giles, CHW and Joe Hafkenschiel, CAHSAH on the
proposed PPS rules. With the release of the CMS’ proposed PPS Reform and
estimated implementation date of January 2008, over 120 attendees
continued on next page
Riverside, California
Plenty of food for Conference Attendees!
CAHSAH Members Listen to Opening
Speaker
CAHSAH Employee Babette Lieberman
Finalizes the Western Outlaw Game
CAHSAH’s 2007 Annual Conference
and Home Care Expo Wrap-Up
squeezed into this session to get the inside scoop on the preliminary PPS
changes.
At the closing luncheon, Donna Cutting’s interactive presentation using
audience participation highlighted key elements on the case of lost employees.
Cutting examined the clues to employee dissatisfaction and reviewed ideas
on improving retention by staff appreciation and recognition.
CAHSAH’s conference featured many new and exciting things this year.
The most significant change was the downloadable hand outs. Attendees
were instructed to download and print their handouts in advance. They
could also download onsite at the computers and printer at the cyber café.
Additionally, this year marks the first year that CAHSAH has made available
audio and video recordings of select sessions. All recordings were made
available to conference attendees.
The highlight of the conference may very well have been the “wanted
game”. Attendees were given the chance to prove their bounty hunting skills
by identifying and catching all the “outlaws” using the wanted posters. The
winner would collect the reward, which was an Ipod. Although the game
was only meant to have one winner, two aggressive and skilled bounty
hunters were able to find all the bandits. They proved they were the best in
the west by turning in all the outlaws to claim their reward. Congratulations
to Meryl Wren with Citrus Valley Hospice and Home Health and Coco Sly
with Pioneer Home Health Care Inc. A great ending to a great conference!
The California Association for Health Services at Home would like to thank
all those involved with the conference, from speakers to vendors and
sponsors to attendees - your support and participation is what makes this
event such a success.
Opening General Session with Bill Dombi of
the National Association for Home Care &
Hospice (NAHC)
See you next year on May 7-9 in Palm Springs, California for CAHSAH’s
2008 Annual Conference & Home Care Expo.
CAHSAH Members Attending a
Educational Session
All booths were sold by early March , with additional vendors on our waiting
list.
The Ben H. Lewis Hall at The Riverside Convention Center was filled with 77
exhibitors (82 booths), representing companies that serv the home care
industry. Exhibitors came from all over the United States to introduce and make
available products and services to CAHSAH providers – medical disposable
supplies, innovative software solutions, telehealth equipment, to name a few.
This year’s exhibit hall featured four special events:
•
CAHSAH Trivia – In keeping with the early California theme, there
was a California history desktop trivia game which was available
throughout the Expo. There were ten questions; scoring was based on
a combination of correct answers and time. The winning participant
received a digital camcorder worth $250. Congratulations to Larry
Boggeln of Hospice of the Valleys, Sun City, CA.
CAHSAH Member in the Expo Hall
continued on next page
CAHSAH’s 2007 Annual Conference
and Home Care Expo Wrap-Up
•
Cast Your Vote – The exhibitors were encouraged to decorate their booth in keeping with the western theme, and a committee
selected the winning exhibitor—The Wilshire Group who received a free ad in a 2008 issue of CAHSAH’s bulletin.
•
Non Home Care Vendors – the fun stuff. There were four vendors with jewelry, cooking equipment and personalized
decorative pillows for your enjoyment, adding another dimension to the event.
•
At Wednesday evening’s opening reception, twenty-six vendors were recognized for having exhibited at least five
consecutive years at CAHSAH’s expo. Each received an etched glass dish as a token of our appreciation for their continued
support of the home care industry.
Fifty prizes donated by CAHSAH, our exhibitors and vendors were raffled at Thursday evening’s Expo Finale. The grand prize
went to Sandy Sanville of VNA of the Central Valley, Modesto, CA – complimentary registration for the 2008 CAHSAH Conference
in Palm Springs, May 7-9, and two night accommodations at The Wyndham Hotel and Resort, the host facility, during conference.
The package also included a $100 VISA gift card, a package totaling more than $1000 — compliments of CAHSAH and The
Wyndham. Congratulations, Sandy. Enjoy!
CAHSAH offers a special thanks to our Exhibitor Advisory Committee who provided input and insight for the 2007 Home
Care Expo: Melani Conti, Heffernan Insurance Brokers
Tiffany Karlin, Kellogg & Andelson
Suzanne Stimac, Select Data
Kathleen Llonillo, Healthcare Synergy
And, of course, we extend our appreciation to the 2007 exhibitors, many of which were also sponsors
of various conference events: 2007 Conference Sponsors
Raffle Prize Donations
3M Home Health Systems
5 Star Consultants, LLC
Accreditation Commission for Health Care, Inc.
Accredited Medical Equipment & Supply
Addus HealthCare, Inc.
Anodyne Therapy
Barney & Barney, LLC
Beacon Health
Boyd & Nicholas, Inc.
Briggs Corporation
Caldwell & Associates Insurance Services, Inc.
California Department of Health ServicesMedical- Case Management Program
Calmoseptine, Inc.
CareCentric
Care West Insurance Company
Catholic Healthcare West
CellTrak Technologies, Inc.
Cerner BeyondNow
Continuity Care Staffing Services, Inc.
ConvaTec, A Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Delta Health Technologies, LLC
Entech Medical Corporation
Enterprise Fleet Management
Focal Point Systems, Inc.
Formtran, Inc.
Gannett Healthcare Group
Gulf South Medical Supply
Health Systems Solutions
Health Watch
Healthcare Automation, Inc.
Healthcare Provider Solutions, Inc.
Healthcare Synergy, Inc.
HealthMEDX, Inc.
HealthWyse, LLC
Heffernan Insurance Brokers -GPO
Home Care Information Network
Home Care Sales
Home Healthcare Solutions Inc.
Home Instead Senior Care
Honeywell HomMed
HospiScript Services, LLC
iCare Health Monitoring, Inc
InfoLink Screening Services, A Kroll
Company-GPO
Infosys, Inc.
Interactive Medical Developments
Kaiser Permanente
Kellogg & Andelson
King Medical Supply
Lewis, Inc.
Livermore & Associates, Inc.
Lumetra
McBee Associates, Inc.
McKesson Corporation-GPO
McKesson Provider Technologies-GPO
Medline Industries
NDSI Healthcare, Inc.
OptionCare
Outcome Concept Systems, Inc.
Patient Care Technologies, Inc.
Philips Consumer Healthcare Solutions
PPS Plus Software
Procura
ProData, Inc.
QAS
Royal Pacific Corp.
Sandata Technologies, Inc.
Select Data
Shield Healthcare
Stoneridge Partners
Strategic Healthcare Programs, LLC
Stratis Business Systems, Inc.
The Braff Group
The Corridor Group, Inc.
Vitas Innovative Hospice Care
Viterion TeleHealthcare, LLC
WebVMC, LLC
Wilshire Business Partners
Table Top Vendors:
Garnett Gal
Premier Design High Fashion Jewelry
The Painted Pillow by Dawn
The Pampered Chef
THANKS TO ALL!!!!!
CAHSAH’s 2007 Annual Conference
and Home Care Expo Wrap-Up
Contributions to Home Care Recognized at Awards Luncheon!
On May 17th at CAHSAH’s 2007 Annual Conference and Home Care Expo, six
people were recognized for their outstanding achievements during the Awards
Luncheon. The awards were presented by the Chair of CAHSAH’s Nominating
Committee, Barbara Schuh.
The Home Care Service Award was presented to Gloria Nelson, Care Companion,
Companion Care, Inc. in Richmond. This award was established to honor an
individual directly involved in day-to-day care, who has consistently provided
outstanding service to patients in their homes. Barbara Schuh, Owner of Companion
Care, Inc. provided a moving testimony about Gloria’s vision for service. Gloria was
commended for going above and beyond what is expected of a care companion.
The Home Care Physician of the Year Award was presented to co-recipients Dr.
Frank C. Candela, with Candela Schreier Medical Corporation in West Hills and
Dr. Brad Stuart with Sutter VNA & Hospice in Emeryville. This award honors a
physician who excels in providing and utilizing home care, optimizing the role of
home care in the health care system. Neil Rotter with Accredited Home Health
Services in Woodland Hills spoke about Dr. Candela and commended Dr. Candela
for his many contributions to our home care industry. Jennifer Lillard, Hospice
Director of Sutter VNA and Hospice in Emeryville spoke about Dr. Stuart’s strong
commitment to patient comfort and end-of-life care, and his passion for excellence.
The Aide-to-RN Scholarship was presented to David Young, La Jolla Nurses
Homecare in La Jolla. This $500 scholarship provides support to students who have
been accepted at an accredited School of Nursing, are employed by a CAHSAH
member, have expressed a desire to work in home care after obtaining a nursing
degree, and have demonstrated financial need. David was recognized for his
passion and dedication to home care.
The CAHSAH Home Care Nursing Scholarship was presented to Kathleen Doud,
Ridgecrest Regional Hospital Home Health Agency in Ridgecrest. This $2,000
scholarship provides support to students in good standing in an AA, BS, or MS
Nursing Program who have demonstrated a commitment to home care and to the
community. Kathleen attends the University of Phoenix and is working towards
her Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing.
The Lois C. Lillick Award was presented to Paul Giles, Director of Finance, Home
Care Division, Catholic Healthcare West in San Francisco. This award honors an
individual who has made outstanding contributions to the continuing development
of local, state, and national home care associations. Joe Hafkenschiel, President of
CAHSAH, delivered remarks on behalf of Kathleen Sullivan, Marian Home Care in
Santa Maria. Paul was recognized as a national home care finance expert who has
delivered valuable educational programs at both the state and national level. He
was also recognized for his contributions to CAHSAH through service on numerous
CAHSAH committees, the Board of Directors and as serving as the 2000-2001 Board
Chairperson.
CAHSAH would like to acknowledge all of the nominators and nominees for their
participation in the awards process and congratulate the winners of these awards.
continued on next page
(From left to right) Barbara Schuh, Companion
Care Inc. and Brittnei Salerno, La Jolla Nurses
HomeCare receives the Aide-to-RN scholarship for
David Young who could not attend the conference.
(From left to right) Barbara Schuh, Companion
Care Inc. and Kathleen Doud, Ridgecrest Regional
Hospital Home Health Agency who won the Home
Care Nursing Scholarship, Sally Kennedy,
Ridgecrest Regional Hospital Home Health Agency.
(From left to right) Barbara Schuh, Companion
Care Inc. and Jennifer Lillard present the Home
Care Physician of the Year Award to Dr. Brad Stuart
with Sutter VNA & Hospice in Emeryville
(From left to right) Barbara Schuh, Companion
Care Inc. and CAHSAH President Joe
Hafkenschiel present the Lois C. Lillick Award to
Paul Giles, Director of Finance, Home Care
Division, Catholic Healthcare West.
CAHSAH’s 2007 Annual Conference
and Home Care Expo Wrap-Up
Members Attend Western Hoedown to Raise Funds for PAC
Attended by over130 people, the PAC Event Dinner— held during CAHSAH’s
Annual Conference and Home Care Expo in Riverside— was a huge success.
Members celebrated to a Western Theme at the Mission Inn in a beautiful,
historic room. The event featured a delicious Old West BBQ dinner, a lively
DJ who played country music throughout the evening, and a Western Best
Dressed contest. The dance floor was crowded to capacity as the DJ led
everyone in “the Cowboy Macarena” and the “Electric Slide” line dances.
Sharon Niederhaus, chair of the PAC Event Planning Committee, from
South Coast Medical Center Home Care, was the Master of Ceremonies for
the event. She enthusiastically made announcements, and handled the raffle
drawings, and silent auction in her pink cowboy hat and boots.
The PAC Event Dinner, our largest fundraiser of the year, brought in a
remarkable amount of donations for the Political Action Committee. Thanks
to the generosity of event sponsors, event attendees, those who bought raffle
tickets, and those who bid on our silent auction items. All together, we raised
$16,703 to help CAHSAH in our advocacy and legislative efforts at the State
Capitol. While your contributions are generous, the PAC will still need
continued support throughout the rest of the year
PAC Event Planning Committee members Kimberley
Aguilar of Assured InHome Care, Sharon Niederhaus
of South Coast Medical Center Home Care, Ron
Widdick of Oso Home Care, event volunteer LuAnn
Johnson of Oso Home Care, and Scott Miles of Care
West at the PAC Event.
This year’s PAC Event Dinner would have been impossible to plan, set-up,
and manage without the assistance of the PAC Event Planning Committee,
and other gracious volunteers. We would also like to recognize those who
donated the wonderful raffle and silent auction prizes. Additionally, we
extend our thanks to the generous sponsors that supported the PAC, and
made the entire dinner possible. Be sure to review the list of members who
all played a role in making the PAC Event Dinner 2007 a huge success!
PAC Planning Committee
The PAC Planning Committee met weekly by conference call in the months
preceding the event to discuss and plan the details of the event. CAHSAH
would like to recognize the hard work of each committee member:
Sharon Niederhaus of South Coast Medical Center Home Care (chair)
Ron Widdick of Oso Home Care
Sharon Fredrichs of St. Joseph Home Health
Kimberley Aguilar of Assured InHome Care
PAC Event Planning Committee member Sharon
Fredrichs of St. Joseph Home Health (left), with
event volunteer Nancy Fitzgerald (right).
Volunteers
Several people offered to assist with decorating, registration for the event,
and selling raffle tickets. These include:
Sara Kawaguchi of Home Care Network
Ben Kawaguchi of Home Care Network
Melanie Stover of Home Care Sales
LuAnn Johnson of Oso Home Care
Nancy Fitzgerald of South Coast Medical Center Home Care.
CAHSAH members learning the “Cowboy
Macarena”…a hilarious line dance created by the
event’s DJ, Andy Nation.
CAHSAH’s 2007nnual Conference
and Home Care Expo Wrap-Up
Sponsors
Generous members provided $12,500 in sponsorships
to support the PAC:
Accredited Home Health $1,500 (Food Sponsor)
San Francisco Bay Area Regional Council
$1,500 (Food Sponsor)
Pro-Care Home Health $1,250 (Entertainment Sponsor)
Oso Home Care $500 value (Decoration Sponsor)
Optimal Health Services $1,000 (Event Sponsor)
Pathways Home Health and Hospice $1,000
(Event Sponsor)
Accent Care $1,000 (Event Sponsor)
VITAS $750
San Diego Regional Council $750
Healthcare Synergy $750
Orange County Home Care Council $500
Arcadia Health Care $500
Home Health Council of LA County $500
Competent Care $250
In-Home Caregivers $250
Kellogg and Andelson $250
Continuity Care Council $250
Financial Freedom $250
Joe Hafkenschiel $250
Assured InHome Care $250
Healthcare Provider Solutions $250
Raffle and Silent Auction Prize Donators
Thanks also to those who donated the wonderful raffle and
silent auction prizes:
All Direct Travel
donated the grand prize— a 3 day Cruise ($350)
The SF Bay Area Regional Council
donated 4 $50 VISA Gift Cards ($200)
CCVNA and Hospice
donated a Monterey Co. Wine Basket ($50)
McCoy & Connolly Consulting
donated a BBQ Gift Basket ($40)
Matched Caregivers
donated chocolates and a Macy’s Card ($100)
Adventist Health
donated an Origins Gift Basket ($50)
The San Diego Reg. Council
donated a Nordstrom’s Gift Card ($50)
Assured InHome Care
donated 4 Tickets to Disney’s Club 33 ($200)
Oso Home Care
donated a Gift Basket ($50)
The National Private Duty Association donated a Macy’s
Card ($100)
Continuity Home Care Nurses donated a Nordstrom’s Gift
Card ($50)
Purchased Tickets and/or Attended Event:
Connie Little
Cyndy Hatton
Craig Falk
Diane Brabetz
Les Brabetz
Lucy Andrews
Mindy Coots Mizaki
Denise Kennard
Tim Colling
Linda Colling
Dave Dial
Kay Kallas
Deborah Newquist
Sharon Niederhaus
Carolyn Bonner
Barry Berger
Darrin Carey
MaryAnne Isbell
Diane Blair
Rosalie Berger
Michele Hofine
James Fields
Neil Rotter
LuAnn Johnson
Ron Widdick
Steven Davidson
Millette Aredondo
Tiffany Karlin
Barbara Burgess
Brittnei Salerno
Courtney Sly
Pat West
Elena Salerno
Carol Parks
Nona Stuckleman
Nichole Illingworth
Victoria Travis
Heidi Steele
Patti Zapell
Steve Braff
John Clark
Sharon Fredrichs
Kathy Janz
Nancy McCoy
Mary Lou Connolly
Joe Hafkenschiel
Doug Clary
Barbara Beaty
Mary Ftitzer
Judy Epperson
Candace Ryan
Kimberly Aguilar
Sherry Mendoza
Jude Mercado
Cindy Carson
Maryanne Sawoski
Carol Lawrence
Peter Kellison
Vivian Fox
Shane Hull
Chad Fotheringham
Tafa Jefferson
Sara Hayes
Monica Bush
Amelia Campbell
Steven Amponsen
Sandra McIntosh
Paul Giles
Randy Radcliff
Sandy Sandville
Maureen Reily
Barbara Schuh
Larry Schuh
Jody Sherman
Earl Sherman
Belinda Condit
Ken Erman
Kathy Ahearn
Veronica King
Bill Weideman
Wende Brookshire
Nancy Runyan
Trudy Miller
Veronica Yanez
Joan Bairer Garland
LaRita Sorrell
Gretchen McCoy
Nancy Fitzgerald
Melanie Stover
Monica Seay
Vicki Paul
Romelia Garcia
Eric Eberle
Sherry Burke
Jack Macbuhay
Sara Kawaguchi
Ben Kawaguchi
Linda Sue Mahgles
Donna Deterding
Morgen Elizabethchild
Debbie Wilson
Lynette LaRouche
Linda Shakir
Melinda Gaboury
Mark Cannon
Davis Crow
David Morrow
David Reposa
Mary Dee Dee
Deborah Wine
Kim Hughey
Shauna Kehow
Noelle Clark
Starry Hang (photographer)
Scott Miles
CAHSAH’s 2007 Annual Conference
and Home Care Expo Wrap-Up
Thank You Conference Volunteers!
Each year a group of dynamic people set time aside from their own
conference experience to enhance the experience of others. They take on
tasks such as registration check-in, recording of sessions, introduction
of speakers, and distribution and collection of evaluations. Some of
these tasks may seem small, but it’s the little details that make a huge
difference. The CAHSAH staff could not have pulled off such a large
conference without the assistance of these wonderful people. CAHSAH
“thanks” and appreciates your time and dedication in making this
year’s conference the “best” ever!
Kathy Ahearn, Longs Drugs
Lucy Andrews, At Your Service Home Care
Millette Arredondo, Accredited Home Health Services
Barry Berger, Accredited Home Health Services
Diane Brabetz, At Home Nursing Services
Carol Brainerd, Citrus Valley Home Health and Hospice
Irene Cole, Lumetra
Belinda Condit, BestCare Southern California HHA
Mary Lou Connolly, McCoy and Connolly
Mindy Coots-Miyazaki, Lumetra
Steve Davidson, Accredited Home Health Services
Romelia Garcia, Accredited Home Health Services
Michele Hofhine, Accredited Home Health Services
Kay Kallas, Mercy Home Health and Hospice
Tiffany Karlin, Kellogg & Andelson
Ben Kawaguchi
Sara Kawaguchi, Home Care Network, Inc.
Nancy McCoy, McCoy and Connolly
Sharon Munson, Lumetra
Sharon Niederhaus, South Coast Med. Ctr. Home Care
Emma Pefley, New Haven Home Health Services
Virginia Reyes-Carreon, Hygieia Home Health
Brittnei Salerno, La Jolla Nurses HomeCare
Monica Seay, UCSF Home Health Care
Barbara Shuh, Companion Care
Coco Sly, Pioneer Home Health Care
Heidi Steele, Accent Care
Melanie Stover, Home Care Sales
Pat West, Pioneer Home Health Care
Patti Zabell, Accent Care
If you would like to assist the CAHSAH staff in creating a great
experience at the next annual conference in May of 2008, contact Soua
Vang at [email protected] or (916) 641-5795 ext. 122. Thanks again
to everyone! See you next year!
CAHSAH Volunteers, Kathy Ahearn and
Melanie Stover
CAHSAH Members having a good time at
the Luncheon
Thank You Conference Sponsors!
Thanks to the support of our sponsors, CAHSAH has been able to keep costs down while
being able to provide products and services such as hosted receptions, bottled water, tote
bags, pens, note pads, lanyards, and the cyber cafe. It is with sincerest thanks, that we
acknowledge all of our sponsors:
Heffernan Insurance
Brokers
Care West Insurance
Company
Strategic Healthcare
Programs
DataSoftLogic
CHW
Health Systems
Solutions
Interim HealthCare
HealthCareSynergy
McKesson
Accredited Medical
Equipment and Supply
Stratis Business Systems
Outcome Concept
Systems
Precision Medical
Billing
Philips
17
CAHSAH bulletin June 2007
CAHSAH Congratulates the Graduates of the
Home Care Manager Certificate Program (HCMCP)
April 16-18, 2007 – Anaheim, CA
Adrian Jordan
Adrianne Allison
Alex Saldana
Andrea Crieger
Angela Allen
Annetta Sparks
Arlen Avanesian
Aurora Albert
Beberlina Perrine
Carlito Liamzon
Cheri Whiton
Cristine Dy
Dalene Alojipan
David Jarvis
Delba Hodges
Denise Glasper
Dennis Black
Donna Koenig
Eileen Ash
Evangeline Parades
Galen Gonzalez
Gina Nguyen
Glenn Gabrang
Greg Maasberg
Gwendolyn Joseph
Irma Deweese
Jaime David
John Kiriaze
Josefine Maranan
Joy Tyson
Juanita Jahn
Karapet Tilfizyan
Karen Koenig
Kathleen Kalfman
Kathy Ornelas
Kristine Stepanen
Kyeongsil Park
Leeana McNeilley
Leo Huey
Leonard Frie
Liza Orleans
Lynne Custodio
Madelene Agulto
Maranan JR
Mariya Mosoyan
Mark Uranga
Markar Karapetian
Matt Neal
Intouch Home Care
Hemophilia Health Services
Oxford HealthCare
AllSupreme Home Care, Inc.
River City Pharmacy, Inc
Loving Hearts Private Care, Inc
ROYAL HEALTH HOMECARE AGENCY, INC.
HomeHealth Solution, Inc
Beberlina Perrine
Nursing Resources
Estes Park Home Care
Intouch Home Care
TEA Health Care Services, Inc.
WRHS- Long Term Care
Cherish Senior Care
Kaiser Foundation Hospitals Tri Central Home
Care Agency
Optimal Health Services
Oxford HealthCare
Central Coast VNA & Hospice
Visiting Nurse Association and Hospice of Southern
California, Inc.
Valley Care Home Health Services, Inc.
Gina Registry
Medside Home Health
Visiting Angels
Treasured Footsteps
Evergreen Care Providers, Inc.
St. Bernardine Care Providers Inc.
ElderCare Solutions Inc.
Atrium Home Health, Inc.
Home Rehabilitation Health Care Agency, Inc.
DocVentures, LLC
Guardian Angel Home Health Care, Inc.
Sutter Lakeside Home Medical Services
Optimal Health Services
Meditech Home Health, Inc. & Meditech Health
Services, Inc.
Home Health Care Agency, Inc.
Care Center Home Health, Inc.
Help Unlimited, Inc.
Seniors at Home, Inc.
DocVentures, LLC
As’Lief Home Health
Guardian Angel Home Health Care, Inc.
Premium Home Health, Inc.
Atrium Home Health, Inc.
Central Home Health Agency
Companion Home Health & Hospice
American Dream Home Health Care, Inc.
Eskaton Healthcare
Michele Farley
Michelle Lehne
Nina Jalali
Olaleye Abioro
Patricia Solorzano
Rem Badillo
Rosalinda Pascual
Rowena Chua
Ryan Canlas
Soldiamor Picardal
Sook Chung Kim
Stella Santa Cruz
Sue Kulpaca
Suzette Kelley
Sylvia Alikahn
Sylvia Jones
Theodros Gelagay
Verjine Keleshyan
Vinh Tran
Advocate Home Care - Sonoma
Help Unlimited, Inc.
LA Care Provider
Benevolence Home Health Care, Inc.
Oxford HealthCare
AllSupreme Home Care, Inc.
Kaiser Foundation Hospitals
Tri Central Home Care Agency
Medside Home Health
RC Home Healthcare, Inc.
Accurate Home Health Care, Inc.
Care Center Home Health, Inc.
Quest Home Health Services, Inc.
Meditech Home Health, Inc. &
Meditech Health Services, Inc.
CareSouth Home Health of San Diego
Help Unlimited, Inc.
Kaiser Foundation Hospitals Tri
Central Home Care Agency
Orange Home Health Agency, Inc.
RP Home Care Services
TEA Health Care Services, Inc.
2007 Salary and Wage Survey
CAHSAH has partnered with Hospital & Healthcare
Compensation Service (HCS) to conduct a California specific
home care and hospice salary survey. The survey was
mailed out to all home care providers earlier this month. If
you did not receive the survey and would like to participate,
email [email protected] for a copy, or compete the survey
on-line
by
visiting:
http://hhcsinc.com/
CAHSAH_Indi&Multi_.php. Previously, CAHSAH
conducted its own Salary and Benefits Survey but it was
difficult to get organizations to participate. The last Salary
and Benefits Report published by CAHSAH was in 2004. By
partnering with HCS, CAHSAH hopes to get increased
participation. The questionnaire is designed for hospice
and all types of home care (Medicare Certified, licensed
home health and private duty). Please complete the sections
that are relevant to your agency. Your input is important to
both your agency and other agencies for determining current
and competitive marketplace compensation. In addition,
the survey will provide valuable information for CAHSAH
to use in its legislative advocacy and consumer education
efforts. Please participate in this important study being
conducted on your behalf. By participating you will also
save over 50 percent off the publication price of $295. The
deadline to participate is August 3, 2007.
18
CAHSAH bulletin June 2007
Home Care Manager Certificate Program (HCMCP)
Medicare PPS Reform
Preparation is NOT an option!
November 7-9, 2007 – Burlingame, CA
The Home Care Manager Certificate Program was developed by CAHSAH to
accommodate all sections of home care, from private pay to large home care
agencies. It was designed to give you the necessary training you need to operate
a home care organization the right way. It covers everything from identifying your
leadership style; marketing; state, federal and local regulations; financial
management and budgeting and human resources & employment law.
Spend three days in Burlingame, California with eight knowledgeable speakers to
get the essential training you need to run a successful home care agency.
Don’t miss this program, as it is only offered once a year in Northern, California.
For more information or to register for this program please contact Kristy Van Dyke
at [email protected] or 916-641-5795 ext 113.
US Supreme Court Makes Decision on Home Care Overtime Exemption
continued from page 1
three states from the benefit of the
exemption. As a result, Long Island Care
at Home appealed the decision to the
United States’ Supreme Court raising
implications for all third party home care
providers in the United States, including
California. The United States Supreme
Court heard oral arguments on April 16,
2007 to determine whether or not the
exemption applied to third party
employers, as well as private households
hiring workers individually.
According to the lead author of the opinion,
Associate Justice Stephen G. Bryer, an
appointee
under
the
Clinton
Administration, the exemption does apply
to third party employers. Bryer’s 20 page
decision reviewed whether the Department
had the authority to interpret Congress’
companionship exemption to apply to
third party employers. According to
Bryer… the “courts should defer to the
Department’s rule. And that, in our view,
is what the law requires.”
This decision is clearly one of the most
important decisions for home care aide
organizations providing services to
seniors and others in California. CAHSAH
President, Joseph Hafkenschiel
commented, “This decision is very
consistent with our efforts on the state
level to clarify the personal attendant
provisions, and it also confirms that there
is no significant conflict between federal
and state law.” Additionally, Eric Eberle,
Chair of the CAHSAH Home Care Aide
Steering Committee remarked, “This is a
milestone for the home care industry. We
will continue to work to clarify key issues,
including the calculation of hours worked
as it relates to sleep and meal period
requirements under the wage orders,
statute and federal labor law.”
Donate to PAC and be Entered in Drawing
for Theme Park Tickets!
This July, CAHSAH is encouraging members to contribute
to the Political Action Committee (PAC) by offering a
special incentive. Any organization or individual who
makes a contribution to the PAC in July—in any amount—
will be entered into a drawing to win two tickets to Six
Flags Magic Mountain theme park in Valencia, Ca.
These tickets are valued at $59.99 each.For further details
on the PAC, please contact Jetta Meadows at
[email protected] You can also make an online
contribution at ,http://www.cahsah.org/PACdonationpg1.asp
The Medicare PPS Reform is coming ...
and you need to be prepared. The proposal
issued by the CMS calls for an increase
from 80 to 153 HHRGs, major changes to
the current 10 visit therapy threshold, and
changes to the clinical and functional casemix domains.
CAHSAH is giving you a heads start.
Sign up for our one-day workshop
“Medicare PPS Reform” and prepare
yourself and your staff for the PPS changes.
This seminar has been developed to
familiarize agencies with the proposed
regulation for Medicare Home Health PPS
Reform. Items included in this all-day
session are the new case-mix calculation:
the four-equation model, the new therapy
thresholds and changes to the OASIS
document. Coding, as well as, HHRG
conversion and new calculation for NonRoutine Supplies will also be reviewed.
Lastly, the review will include a
demonstration of the New Financial
Calculator for the Proposed PPS Changes
and compare the resulting differences
between current method and the proposed
for HHRG scoring and payment amounts,
using actual examples.
Join Melinda Gaboury, Healthcare
Provider Solutions and Paul Giles,
Catholic Healthcare West for this
informative workshop. Don’t miss your
chance to be prepared!
When and Where?
August 7, 2007
Knott’s Berry Farm Resort Hotel
7675 Crescent Avenue
Buena Park, California 90620
Phone: (714) 995-1111
(near Anaheim, CA)
August 9, 2007
Holiday Inn Capitol Plaza
300 J Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 446-0100
Agencies need to begin educating staff
and this seminar is the perfect place to
begin!For more information or to register
for this program please contact Kristy Van
Dyke at [email protected] or 916-6415795 ext 113.
19
CAHSAH bulletin June 2007
2007 CAHSAH Official Election
Ballot - The ballot packet for both Board
of Directors and the Nominating
Committee elections was mailed on June 4.
This year, CAHSAH members will elect
five (5) Board members.
Candidates for the three (3) Medicare
Certified seats are:
Denise Altomare, Rehab at Home in
Belmont
Barry Berger, Accredited Home Health
Services in Woodland Hills
Patricia Wolfe, Pathways Home Health
and Hospice in Sunnyvale
Candidates for the one (1) Home Care Aide
seat are:
Lucy Andrews, At Your Service Home Care
in Santa Rosa
Barbara Schuh, Companion Care, Inc. in
Lafayette
Candidate for the one (1) Home Infusion
Pharmacy seat is:
Bob Scheblein, River City Pharmacy in
Sacramento
This year, CAHSAH members will also
elect five (5) Nominating Committee
members.
Candidates for the two (2) Medicare
Certified seats are:
Elissa Hamilton, Palomar Pomerado Home
Health in Escondido
Alex Saldana, Oxford HealthCare in Long
Beach
Candidates for the one (1) Home Care Aide
seat are:
Romelia Garcia, Matched CareGivers in
Redwood City
Laurie Edwards-Tate, At Your Home
Familycare in San Diego
Candidate for the one (1) Home Medical
Equipment seat is:
Neil Rotter, Accredited Medical Equipment
& Supply in Woodland Hills
Candidate for the one (1) Home Infusion
Pharmacy seat is:
Heidi Steele, AccentCare, Inc. in Irvine
If you have any questions, please contact Michele
Lander at 916-641-5795, ext. 129 or
[email protected]. Ballots must be received in
the CAHSAH office by July 6, 2007.
Department of Public Health (DPH) Surveys:
What Does This Mean for You?
Why should you attend?
Because of the MAJOR change from DHS to DPH!
Get the latest changes on the transition from
DHS to DPH and what it means for your agency!
DPH is going to start re-surveying licensed only agencies.
DPH plans to add surveys of 10% of “problem” agencies over and
above the regular work plan.
DPH plans to reduce the backlog of agencies waiting for licensure by the
beginning of the federal fiscal year which is October 1, 2007.
Gain working knowledge of the survey process from beginning to end from the
professionals conducting your surveys and the consultants who are in agencies
before, during and after!
Our Experts will give you:
Preparation tips for peak performance
Guidelines to get you through the survey site visit
The keys to preparing a “boomerang proof” Plan of Correction
Important cautions regarding fraud red flags, adverse events
and immediate jeopardy.
Attend this workshop and learn everything you need to know to about DPH surveys.
When and Where?
August 28, 2007
Hilton Arden West
2200 Harvard Street
Sacramento, California 95815
Phone: (916) 922-4700
August 30, 2007
Knott’s Berry Farm Resort Hotel
7675 Crescent Avenue
Buena Park, California 90620
Phone: (714) 995-1111
Questions? For more information on this workshop
contact CAHSAH at (916) 641-5795 ext 113.
Welcome to CAHSAH’s Newest Members!
The following members joined between April 17, 2007 and June
13, 2007. CAHSAH thanks you and looks forward to working on
your behalf throughout the coming year.
Providers:
Access For Better Care
Advantage Health Systems
Allied Healthcare Solutions Inc.
Alpenglow Hospice
Always There Homecare, Inc.
California Health
Mega Care Health Professionals
SVCS., Inc.
Nurses Choice Home Care
Royal Oaks Hospice
Saint Agnes Home Health
Superior Home Health Services, Inc.
Valley In-Home Care Services
Affiliates:
ENR & Associates
CAHSAH bulletin June 2007
HOME CARE INFORMATION NETWORK
Timely Information is Essential - Web Seminars
The proposed PPS rule is expected to trigger the most significant
change for home care since the Balanced Budget Act of 1997,
and industry leaders have promised to challenge provisions as
they are presently written. The target implementation date is
January 1, but CMS has left the door open to delaying certain
changes based on industry feedback. As developments unfold
over the summer and fall, you will want to make certain your
agency is armed with the most up-to-date information and
guidance to address these changes.
EDUCATION CALENDAR
For more information regarding a specific program, visit www.cahsah.org
Space is limited - so sign up now!
June
27
Phone Seminar: Wound Care - The Why, Where and What (2)
July
10-12 HACP (San Diego, CA)
11-13 HCACP (San Diego, CA)
31
The Art of ICD-9 Coding (Ontario, CA)
August
In early July, HCIN will begin a series of broadcasts and news
updates entitled Success Strategies for a New PPS Era.
Every other Monday throughout the summer and fall a new
seminar will debut with guidance fine-tuned to reflect the latest
PPS developments and CMS changes. Our regular broadcasts
will keep you and your staff abreast of breaking news and are
included at no additional cost.
1
7
9
28
The Art of ICD-9 Coding (Ontario, CA)
Medicare PPS Reform Workshop (Buena Park, CA)
Medicare PPS Reform Workshop (Sacramento, CA)
Survey Workshop (Sacramento, CA)
30
Survey Workshop (Buena Park, CA)
This seminar series provides more than just an executive-level
review of the potential impact of proposed changes. Our
faculty includes experts from across the U.S with diverse
clinical, operational and financial backgrounds, who will provide
content aimed at all your staff.
TBD
To register for HCIN’s free PPS Refinement seminar,
just go to http://www.homecareinformation.net/
collateral/PPSregister.php
For a full listing of web seminars visit
www.homecareinformation.net
California Association for
Health Services at Home
3780 Rosin Court, Suite 190
Sacramento, CA 95834
September
Hospice Workshop
CAHSAH Annual Conference & Home Care Expo
Palm Springs Convention Center &
Wyndham Hotel - Palm Springs, CA
May 7-9, 2008
SAVE THE DATE!
Education sponsors:
PRESORTED
FIRST CLASS MAIL
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
SACRAMENTO, CA
PERMIT NO. 1971