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ARPA The recently-passed federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) provides a substantial opportunity to support the Choices for Care program. It provides for a 10-point bump in the federal matching rate for home and community-based services like the Choices for Care program beginning April 1. The law…

Over the last several weeks, the focus of the vaccination rollout effort has shifted from the health care workforce to Vermonters aged 75 and up. With that shift comes a new challenge for home health and hospice agencies, which have a critical role to play in this effort. All over Vermont, agencies are…

November is home care and hospice month, a time to celebrate the work of home health and hospice agencies. Usually it’s an opportunity to remind the public about the critical role home health and hospice agencies play in “normal” times—providing high quality health care at home, preserving the independence…

October 2020. Some days feel almost normal. My husband and I spent Saturday at home doing yardwork and stacking the last of the wood before the snow flies. On Sunday, we hiked. I struggled to keep up and wished we were biking instead, but decided it was worth it when we reached the summit. Nothing new…

Printable pdf Overview In “normal” years, we publish a final legislative report in late May or early June, after the Legislature has adjourned and bills have been signed or vetoed. This year, COVID-19 entirely disrupted the process. In March, it became clear that the novel coronavirus had moved from…

Last week marked the beginning of the end of the 2020 legislative session. The Governor released what he’s calling a state fiscal year (SFY) 2021 budget “restatement.” The restatement is a revised proposal for a SFY2021 budget. The document highlights the changes between the original Administration budget…

In “normal” years, we publish a mid-session legislative report in March. We wait until two crucial milestones have been passed. First, the policy “crossover” deadline – the date by which policy bills need to be passed by the originating chamber to give time for consideration by the other. Second, usually…

Usually at this time of year, the Vermont legislature has adjourned until January and I’m in the process of writing a final legislative wrap-up. Instead, this week, the Vermont House is expected to pass a second SFY2020 budget adjustment to address the loss of state revenues caused by the COVID-19 public…

Incentive Pay for Frontline Employees (S. 346) The House Commerce and Economic Development Committee met last week to discuss S.346, a bill that establishes an essential employee grant program for frontline workers. As passed by the Senate, the grants would be provided to frontline employees earning…

Advanced Practice Registered Nurses and PAs Can Now Order Home Health CMS has clarified the federal waiver allowing APRNs and PAs to order home health services because of the COVID-19 emergency. Combined with the CARES act, the change is permanent and will remain in place when the emergency is over.…