Selected Category:

Paid Family Leave House and Senate conferees reached an agreement last week on H. 107, the paid family leave bill. The House approved the compromise with an 89-58 vote. The final bill imposes a 0.2 percent payroll tax to fund the program. A handful of legislators opposed the bill because it didn’t go…

This week, a conference committee reached a long-awaited compromise on S.23, the minimum wage bill. On Friday, the House approved the compromise by a vote of 93-54. The agreement is expected to pass the Senate this week. Under the agreement, minimum wage would increase to $11.75 on January 1, 2021 and…

The 2020 Legislative season begins. The legislative session got off to a fast start last week. The minimum wage bill (S.23) and the paid family leave bill (H.107) were left unresolved at the end of the last session. Because 2020 is the second year of the biennium, legislators procedurally pick up where…

The 2020 legislative session is fast approaching. It will be the second year of a two-year biennium which means any bill that had not yet passed at the end of the 2019 legislative session picks up where it left off. Controversial bills often require a full two-year biennium to make it through the entire…

My maternal grandmother – Nana – was a central figure in my life growing up. When she was young, she was a talented seamstress who sewed wedding dresses for fancy customers. When she got married, she stayed at home and raised two daughters who were born “during the War.” Once the childrearing was done,…

My son—my youngest child—is applying to college this year. Lately, when he’s not talking about his standings in his fantasy football league, he’s talking about standardized tests and writing his college essay. He’s a great kid. Smart and inquisitive. Warm and empathetic. He would be an awesome nurse.…

Last week the Orleans/Essex Visiting Nurse Association celebrated it’s 50th anniversary with a celebration that included the agency’s founder. This is the third 50th anniversary celebration for a member agency that I’ve attended this year. The timing is no coincidence. The bill that created the Medicare…

A pair of bi-partisan companion bills are gaining momentum in Congress. H.R. 2573 and S. 433 protect older and disabled Americans. The bills improve a federal home health payment reform that goes into effect on January 1, 2019 – the first major overhaul of the current payment model in nearly two decades.…

Vermont’s home health and hospice agencies are implementing the new Regulations for the Designation and Operations of Home Health Agencies, the first major overhaul to the regulations since 2007. Over the last several years, the VNAs of Vermont has actively advocated for the rule to be consistent with…

This week, I was interested to see long-term care and independence at home get injected into national politics. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders shared a Washington Post piece on Twitter about the challenges facing Maine’s long-term care system (lots of older people, fewer young people) and naming Vermont…