PHA Updates
National Caregivers Day: 10 Award Winners Announced!
February 26, 2024National Caregivers Day celebrates the dedication of caregivers by acknowledging their commitment to their clients. On Friday, PHA held a drawing to award 10 caregivers a $50 gift card, recognizing…
Member Benefit Spotlight: NEW Form for Member Questions
February 19, 2024We are excited to introduce a new form for member questions, which helps streamline your inquiries and enhance member support! Our team guarantees a response within 48 hours, offering direct…
Guest Column: Why Employee Benefits Matter
February 19, 2024As most company leaders and workers can attest, employee benefits play a critical role in the long-term success for businesses of all sizes. A comprehensive and well put together compensation…
PHA Participates in Senate Majority Policy Committee Hearing on Rural Health Care Challenges
February 19, 2024The Senate Majority Policy Committee held a public hearing about rural health care on Wednesday, Feb. 14. Public Policy Committee member and Vice President of Redstone@Home, Geoff Gehring, testified on PHA’s behalf. The goal of…
Lunch and Learn Recap: RFA for Managed Care Organizations in Community HealthChoices
February 19, 2024On Friday, PHA hosted a Lunch and Learn to discuss the 500+ page document. Mia Haney, CEO, identified important CHC Agreement terms and potential changes that can affect PAS providers. Members…
PHA partners with Community Health Accreditation Partner, Inc. (CHAP), which accredits home and community-based health care organizations and has “deeming” authority granted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services,…
PHA’s Budget Press Statement
February 12, 2024Mia Haney, CEO of the Pennsylvania Homecare Association, issued a statement on Tuesday, February 6, in response to Governor Shapiro’s budget proposal. Haney called on the governor and the General…
Advocacy in Action: PHA Outlines 2024 Funding Need for Pa. Progressive Caucus Members
February 5, 2024On February 1, PHA Members Laura Ness from Bayada Hearts for Home for Home Care, CJ Weaber from Honor Health Network, and Teri Henning from Aveanna Healthcare, along with Alex…
PHA Welcomes Elizabeth Piazza to the Board of Directors
January 29, 2024PHA is excited to announce the appointment of Elizabeth Piazza, Advocacy and Policy Leader at TEAM Services Group, to the Pennsylvania Homecare Association’s Board of Directors! In addition to serving on…
Member Benefit Spotlight: PA Workers’ Compensation Trust
January 29, 2024Discover the Pennsylvania Home Care & Human Services Workers’ Compensation Trust, offering an innovative approach to workers’ compensation for the home health care industry. Group self-insurance empowers related businesses to collectively…
Each year, Home Care Pulse (HCP) performs the largest annual study on the home-based care industry and publishes the results as the HCP Benchmarking Report. This annual report is packed…
Last week, Mia Haney, interim CEO of PHA, sent a letter to Governor Shapiro and legislative leaders highlighting the need to increase funding for Medical Assistance programs and services that…
In case you missed the announcement, hospices can now take advantage of the Home Care Grant programs! The latest grant expansions, which went into effect on January 1, include the…
A Message from PHA’s Interim CEO
January 22, 2024Dear PHA Members, As we step into the promise of a new year, I want to take a moment to reflect on the invaluable contributions and collective strength that each…
Member Benefit Spotlight: FREE Use of PHA Office Space
January 22, 2024PHA offers members free access to our professional office suite in Lemoyne, PA, just minutes from the Capitol Building in Harrisburg. Available space includes conference rooms and offices. Consider our…
Penncares is piloting a new hands-on training program for caregivers. If you are a caregiver or an agency admin member who would be interested in volunteering to come out and…
South Central PA Home Care Grant Extended
January 15, 2024The Pennsylvania Foundation for Home Care and Hospice, supported by the Partnership for Better Health, has extended the South Central PA Home Care Grant program through 2024. The grant supports home-based…
PHA Foundation Expands Grant Eligibility
January 15, 2024The Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Foundation for Home Care and Hospice approved the expansion of the Home Care Grant to allow even more customers to access funds for critical home-based health needs….
Reminder: Don’t Let Your Agency Credentials Expire!
January 15, 2024Don’t let license and credential expirations put a damper on your 2024 business plans! Take a moment this week to add a calendar reminder OR double check an existing calendar…
Last week, PHA led a meeting with the majority and minority chairs of the House Human Services Committee and staff to educate them on Electronic Visit Verification (EVV) and the…
Guest Column: ID Theft and Mitigation of Risk
January 15, 2024With the widespread acceptance of the remote work environment, identity theft has become a greater concern than perhaps ever before. In spite of heightened levels of awareness and implementation of…
2023 Year in Review: A Look at What We Accomplished TOGETHER!
December 18, 2023Our team reflects on a transformative year in its 2023 Year in Review! As a collective force, our staff, board members, and partners dedicated themselves to enhancing professional standards and…
PHA, in partnership with the PA Provider Advocacy Coalition, an organization that constitutes a variety of PA providers and advocates across all fields, recently sent a letter to the Shapiro Administration regarding…
PHA President CJ Rambler Advocates for Home-Based Care on WGAL 8
December 11, 2023On Thursday, CJ Rambler, PHA board president, visited the WGAL 8 studio to talk about PA’s nursing shortage crisis on the nightly news with Susan Shapiro. PHA previously reported in our workforce…
Agency With Choice Litigation Update
October 23, 2023As previously reported, on September 11, 2023, the Commonwealth Court heard arguments in a preliminary hearing regarding PHA’s lawsuit against the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS). The claim had…
Agency With Choice Update
September 18, 2023On September 11, 2023, the Commonwealth Court heard arguments in a preliminary hearing regarding PHA’s lawsuit against the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS). As members are aware, on December…
Visiting Angels Highlights Impact of PHA Home Care Grant – Have You Taken Advantage of this Program?
July 31, 2023Last week, PHA member Staci Rogers of Visiting Angels shared the following message with the PHA team: “We are so thankful for the PHA Home Care grant! Because of the…
Expanded HHVBP Model: July 2023 IPR Now Available
July 31, 2023The first quarterly Interim Performance Reports (IPRs) for the expanded HHVBP Model were published on the Internet Quality Improvement Evaluation System (iQIES) on July 20, 2023. The IPR provides HHAs…
Friday, June 30 marked the close of the Commonwealth’s fiscal year at which point the General Assembly and Governor are constitutionally obligated to come to an agreement on the upcoming…
What’s Happening in Washington
July 10, 2023PHA is excited to announce the reintroduction of the Preserving Access to Home Health Act (S. 2137). Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Susan Collins (R-ME) reintroduced the bill from the…
PHA Celebrates Deserving Caregivers at Direct Care Worker Forum + Congratulations to This Year’s Winners!
July 10, 2023On June 20, PHA and the Department of Aging recognized and celebrated deserving caregivers at the 2023 Direct Care Worker Forum. In total, 150 direct care workers from across the…
Harrisburg Happenings: It’s Budget Season
June 5, 2023Budget month at the Capitol officially kicks off this week with both chambers of the General Assembly convening session on Monday. Prior to the Memorial Day break, the House considered…
HHAeXchange Shares EVV Updates
June 5, 2023As follow up from questions received during the Annual Conference, HHAeXchange is sharing the following updates to PHA members. Home Health MCO Implementations HHAeXchange and the MCOs are continuing to…
Last week, PHA submitted comments to CMS on the FY 2024 Hospice proposed rule. The comments included input and recommendations on: PHA also responded to the request for information related to health equity….
PHA Advocacy Efforts Make Headlines
May 8, 2023Last week the Indiana-Gazette published a story highlighting PHA’s two-day advocacy event in Harrisburg. The article included details on PHA’s first-ever policy summit, including the panel discussion with the Pennsylvania Legislative Home…
Harrisburg Happenings: PHA Bill Passes House
May 1, 2023Last week, the State House voted unanimously to pass House Bill 155, sponsored by Rep. Ben Sanchez (D-Montgomery), which would allow for the ongoing use of two-way, remote video technology for…
Last week, PHA CEO Teri Henning responded to recent reports that the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) plans to recover CARES Act funding from home-based care providers that did…
Last week, the PA House Health Committee convened its first voting meeting to consider several bills. First on the list, House Bill 155, sponsored by Rep. Ben Sanchez (D-Montgomery), would allow…
Two PHA members were recently recognized for their leadership roles in the Pennsylvania healthcare community. David Baiada, CEO of BAYADA Home Health, and Frank Igwe, President of Moravia Health, were…
PHA Board Member Bryant Greene Recognized as Top Franchisee by International Franchise Association
March 20, 2023Bryant Greene from Always Best Care Senior Services and PHA Board member was named a 2023 Franchisee of the Year by the International Franchise Association (IFA). Greene was one of 97 individuals…
PHA Responds to Gov. Shapiro’s First Budget Address; DHS Secretary Holds Stakeholder Call
March 13, 2023Last Tuesday, Governor Josh Shapiro gave his first budget address, setting the stage for the new Administration’s legislative and policy priorities. His proposed spending plan totals $44.4 billion, an increase…
Last week, PHA submitted comments to CMS on proposed changes to the Medicare Advantage (MA) program. PHA raised concerns about the proposal’s potential impacts on premiums and benefits for MA beneficiaries and…
Guest Column: Long Term Disability Benefits Review
March 13, 2023Although long term disability (LTD) benefits may lack the appeal of other more often utilized programs in a company’s benefit portfolio, for an employee who becomes disabled due to an…
New Video Shows Value of Home Health Care
March 6, 2023The Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare has developed a video demonstrating the value of home health and the importance of protecting the home care community from Medicare cuts.
Harrisburg Happenings: PA House Makes History
March 6, 2023Last week, House Speaker Mark Rozzi (D-Berks) resigned his post as expected. Rep. Joanna McClinton, formerly the Democratic Caucus Leader, was voted as the new Speaker of the House, making…
Advocacy in Action: Our Doors Are Always Open
March 6, 2023Last week, PHA was joined by several members at the Capitol as we hosted our first open house coffee event with legislators. The event provided legislators and staff with an…
The Latest on Pediatric Paid Family Caregivers
February 6, 2023PHA continues to advocate for policy changes to allow parents to continue as paid family (home health aide) caregivers after the PHE and partner with other advocates on this critical…
On January 19, PHA CEO Teri Henning was asked to participate in CMS’s quarterly EVV Learning Collaborative. In the meeting, attended by approximately 200 state Medicaid directors and stakeholders, CMS…
In some ways, 2022 felt like a return to more “normal” times. For PHA and our members, that meant plenty of virtual education, but also a welcome return to in-person…
PHA, Other Advocates Request Meeting with CMS on Paid Family Caregivers for Children with Complex Medical Needs
January 30, 2023PHA continues to advocate for policy changes to allow parents of children with complex medical needs to be paid home health aides after the end of the public health emergency.