Bills Addressing Overtime Wage, Oxygen Access Concerns Draw Home Care’s Support
Home care stakeholders are rallying behind two pieces of legislation that aim to improve access to key services for individuals aging in place.
The Ensuring Access to Affordable and Quality Home Care for Seniors and People with Disabilities Act, HR 2304, would undo a 2013 Department of Labor rule narrowing the scope of home care workers exempt from overtime and minimum wage requirements. If signed into law, this bill would reduce labor costs and enhance scheduling flexibility for home care agencies, according to the National Alliance for Care at Home.
“As home care agencies and hospice providers navigate staffing shortages and rising operational costs, HR 2304 offers an important opportunity to restore more predictable and cost-effective care models,” the Alliance in a statement. “We believe that overturning the rule will benefit both workers and consumers by ensuring continued access to affordable home care services without compromising the quality of care provided.”
Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL) introduced this bill in March; it has been referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
Supplemental Oxygen Access Reform Act
Another bill, the Supplemental Oxygen Access Reform (SOAR) Act (HR 2902), aims to streamline patients’ access to respiratory care. Reps. David Valadao (R-CA), Julia Brownley (D-CA), Adrian Smith (R-NE) and Gabe Evans (R-CO) introduced HR 2902 last week. Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Mark Warner (D-VA) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) introduced companion legislation.
“What it’s really trying to do is address some long-standing problems in the payment system for supplemental oxygen,” a spokesperson for the Council for Quality Respiratory Care, which advocates for HR 2902, told McKnight’s Home Care Daily Pulse. “There are different modalities of oxygen, and what a patient gets is really based on their need. For one modality in particular, liquid oxygen, the rates have dropped below the cost of what it takes to provide or supply the oxygen.”
This reimbursement hurdle has created access barriers for patients seeking supplemental oxygen. To break down these barriers and improve access, the SOAR Act would do three things: create a stable Medicare reimbursement rate for liquid oxygen modalities, establish an add-on payment for respiratory therapy services to the supplemental oxygen rate, and standardize reporting practices to prevent fraud, waste and abuse.
Patients receiving care in the home would benefit significantly from the SOAR Act’s reforms, according to CQRC.
“Chronic respiratory disease can be very difficult to manage if you don’t have the right equipment,” the spokesperson said. “And so, by bringing stability to the payment system, this also helps those patients who use home health services.”
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