On March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, known more commonly as “Health Care Reform.” This history making event has caused many in the home health industry to explore the meaning of the changes brought about by this new law. For most of us, we’ve found ourselves “Lost in the FOG.”
To fully comprehend the meaning of “health care reform,” you will need to understand the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, and Executive Order 13535, “Ensuring Enforcement and Implementation of Abortion Restrictions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.”
Then, you need to follow the rabbit trail to see how these documents created changes to the Social Security Act which creates the Medicare and Medicaid programs, the Employee Retirement Income Act (ERISA) and the Internal Revenue Code.
There are thousands of pages of legislation, over 450 specific sections of the PPACA alone, and 64 sections that will have an impact home home health, hospice, private duty home care, or their owners.
It really is like being “Lost in the FOG.”
To help you Navigate through the FOG, I’m working on a new keynote speech for home care association conferences, corporate meetings, and strategic planning sessions. “Navigating the FOG of Health Care Reform” will focus on four specific objectives:
1. Describing five major elements of the new law
2. Discussing the impact of this legislation on home health, hospice and private duty home care
3. Exploring how this new law will change your agency and your life
4. Examining specific steps you can take to get ready for the future.
We’ve divided the material into five major elements:
I. Universal Coverage
II. Reimbursement
II. Regulation
IV. Innovation
V. Economic Impact
Then we identified five specific steps home care & hospice leaders can take to help their organizations get ready for the implementation of these laws over the next four years.
Stay tuned to this BLOG for regular updates on the results of our research, and the regulations that are developed to implement the law.
Give us your comments and feedback on any of the posts where you agree or disagree. And please send us any news items or sources of information that may help other readers get a clearer picture of the impact of these changes.
