Edith G. Prague

Prague, Ritter and Cook Announce Home Health Service Options

“The right care—in the right setting—at the right time.”

Senator Edith G. Prague (D-Columbia), Senate Chair of the legislature’s Committee on Aging, and State Representatives Betsy Ritter (D-Waterford/Montville), House Chair of the Public Health Committee, and Michelle Cook (D-Torrington), House Vice-chair of the Aging Committee, were joined today by other legislators, state agency officials, and members of the Connecticut Home Health Legislative Work Group and the Association for Home Care & Hospice at a press conference to outline home health care service delivery options for residents under state-funded programs. As the state further implements its “right-sizing” plan for health services, providing information to allow consumers to make informed choices is of critical importance.

“Among all those who require home care, senior citizens comprise the fastest growing segment of Connecticut’s population, so it follows that we must fortify and then publicize the necessary services to address their needs at home, where they overwhelmingly prefer to be, where they are most comfortable, and where it is usually the most cost-effective way to care for them,” Senator Prague said. “With this in mind, each family faces heart wrenching decisions about how to best serve the needs of their loved ones, so this clearinghouse of information regarding home care will be invaluable to residents statewide.”

“The Home Health Services Legislative Work Group, representing consumers and providers, has worked diligently since its inception in January, 2010, to maximize the efficiencies of the home care system in Connecticut,” Rep. Ritter stated. “A major difficulty for consumers has been in clearly delineating services provided by caregivers in licensed or registered agencies and by private hires. This leads to significant confusion among clients, providers and state agencies.”

“As consumer choice increases and healthcare consumers become ‘employers’ of their personal care assistants, there is a critical need for consumer education and guidance,” said Rep. Cook. “In order for patients and their families to have confidence in evaluating qualifications, credentials and options for home health care service providers they need the right information to insure the right care is provided in the right setting at the right time. Legislators, providers and consumers must work together to make that happen.”

The State of Connecticut has begun to implement its long-term care and “rightsizing” plan to meet the Connecticut’s Medicaid budget saving projections and establish a person-centered, community-based health care delivery system for 600,000 residents receiving health services under state-funded programs.

“These issues will only become more pressing as we continue with efforts to grow the Money Follows the Person program and the increasing need for appropriate levels of home care and community based services as part of rebalancing efforts,” Rep. Ritter said. “These efforts will give us better health care for residents in the settings they choose, often at home—but we must be equally careful to ensure that care is safe, appropriate, and accessible.”

Connecticut’s home care programs provide high quality care for a fraction of the cost needed to care for people in institutional settings. We continue to struggle without dated definitions and confusing regulations that make it difficult to maximize the efficiencies of the home care system in Connecticut. The Home Health Services Legislative Work Group engaged state agency leaders in collaboration to discuss concerns related to consumer and provider confusion related to private hire caregivers and services provided by licensed home health agencies.

“The need for consumer education as the home health service delivery model changes is great,” said Kim Skehan, Home Health Services Legislative Workgroup Chair. “With the support of Rep. Ritter and agency officials, this is a true collaborative effort where all stakeholders are involved in the process to move the model of person centered, community based care forward.”

The work group has developed an informational brochure to provide consumers and providers with a better understanding of the differences between each caregiver type and risks, and to clarify coordination of care between care providers to maximize utilization of cost-effective and appropriate services to insure safe, appropriate home care to residents.

“Along with the transition to a new home services care model, comes a critical need for consumer education and guidance for individuals and their families to make an informed choice,” said Tracy Wodatch, Vice President of Clinical and Regulatory Services for the Association for Home Care and Hospice. “Today, we are delighted to release a comprehensive brochure clarifying the many options for personal care in the home.”

To access the brochure, “What Consumers Should Consider When Hiring a Personal Caregiver”, go to Connecticut Association for Home Care & Hospice website at: www.cahch.org.

Clarifying home health service options is the first step in the long term strategy to develop a cohesive, seamless delivery system that reduces cost across all health care sectors and delivers high quality care.

In 2012, the legislative work group will continue its efforts to identify specific statutory, regulatory, best practice and education opportunities to achieve that goal.

For more information on home care options, dial Infoline 2-1-1, or contact the Association for Home Care & Hospice, either by calling (203) 265-9931, by email at cahch@cahch.org or online at www.cahch.org.