VAHHA

2011-01-24T09:58:00.000-08:00

Budget Address Tomorrow - Tomorrow, January 25 is Governor Shumlin's budget address. This will be ugly. Budget cuts could be 5 to 10%. Home care agencies already subsidize state program by more than $5 million a year. If home care rates are cut this will only add to the problem. Full details by the end of the week. Stay tuned.

2011-01-14T04:19:00.000-08:00

Werneke New Director of Development for the VNA - Christine Werneke is the new Director of Business Development and Marketing for the VNA of Chittenden and Grand Isle Counties. Christine has been the Chief Marketing Officer for the State of Vermont since 2005. She holds a graduate degree in Community Development from the University of Vermont and serves on the Board of the Vermont affiliate of the American Red Cross. Christine will begin February 28.

2010-11-22T07:37:00.000-08:00

What to do, what to do? The biggest challenge facing Governor-elect Peter Shumlin is the $112 million deficit ($50 million from Medicaid). It's the elephant in the room. No matter what he wants to do, the deficit is there, too big to move without either tax increases or budget cuts or both. And the $112 may be on the low side because the money booked from savings from the Challenges for Change initiatives may or may not be real. CfC is the mandate from the Legislature last year to streamline state programs. The state says CfC will save $30 million but critics argue the savings are unlikely to be realized this fiscal year. Money in the bush is not money in the hand.

Shumlin is learning what all governors know, there is more demand than money.

2010-11-12T09:08:00.001-08:00

Bartlett to Head Administration? It looks like former Senator Susan Bartlett will be named Secretary of Administration. This is a logical choice as she is the former Chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and knows the budget as well as anyone. Bartlett isn’t exactly a fiscal conservative but she is in the “show-me-the-money” camp and isn’t likely to approve programs that have no funding.

Patrick Flood, Deputy AHS Secretary, has the inside track to replace Rob Hofmann as Secretary of AHS. I’ve also heard Rep. Mark Larson’s name as a candidate for this job but it looks like Flood is the leading candidate.

Former Senator Doug Racine could end up somewhere in the Shumlin administration but not sure where.

Senate Majority Leader John Campbell (Windsor) will replace Governor-elect Shumlin as president pro tempore and either Senator Claire Ayer (Addison) or Bill Carris (Rutland) should replace Campbell. Senator Kevin Mullin (Rutland) or Randy Block (St. Albans) will head the Republicans.

In the House, Shap Smith (Morrisville) will return as Speaker. Lucy Leriche (Hardwick) will be majority leader and William Jewett (Ripton) the majority whip. Rep. Don Turner (Milton) probably will lead the Republicans in the House.

Rep. Floyd Nease, the former majority leader, is now the head of the Vermont Association for Mental Health. Nease was reelected November 2nd and could resign his seat in January, after Shumlin is sworn in, which would give the new governor the opportunity to appoint a Democrat to replace him. If Nease stays on in the House he will have an interesting time trying to juggle both his role as a state Representative and a mental health advocate.

The final tally for the 2011 lawmakers should come out next week as there are several contests still in recount including the closest, a one-vote margin by Democrat Gale Courcelle over Republican Doug Gage in Rutland. Apparently, the cliché every vote counts is true.

2010-11-03T07:39:00.000-07:00

Courts Stomp on Medicare - In what could lead to huge changes in how Medicare determines eligibility for home care services, two recent federal court decisions, one in Vermont, ruled that Medicare’s eligibility criteria are too restrictive, according to an article in the New York Times.

In the Vermont case, the court said Medicare had improperly denied coverage for home health services provided to a 66-year-old woman who had had two strokes. Judge Christina Reiss said that even though the patient, Sandra Anderson, was in stable condition, she still needed home health care to prevent deterioration of her functional ability. A Medicare beneficiary “need not risk a deterioration of her fragile health” to justify continuation of skilled care, Judge Reiss said.

In the other care, the Federal District Court in Pittsburgh said Medicare officials were wrong in denying coverage of skilled nursing home care to an 81-year-old woman, Wanda Papciak. After hip replacement surgery, Papciak received skilled nursing care, physical therapy, and occupational therapy in a nursing home. Medicare terminated coverage after five weeks, saying her condition had not improved and was unlikely to improve.

In reversing the decision of Medicare officials, the court said Ms. Papciak needed skilled nursing home care “to maintain her level of functioning” and to prevent her condition from deteriorating. Medicare officials ended coverage of the skilled nursing care for Ms. Papciak because she had reached her “maximum functional capacity.” The court disagreed.

In both cases the courts ruled that Medicare must pay for services needed to maintain a person’s ability to perform activities of daily living and the beneficiaries need not prove that their conditions will improve. This is a total about-face from the standard Medicare decisions. CMS could appeal.

2010-11-02T06:36:00.000-07:00

Young@Heart - In recognition of National Hospice and Palliative Care month, Rutland Area Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice (RAVNAH) and Rutland Regional Medical Center will be hosting a film, discussion, and music event on Monday, November 15 from 4:30-6:45 p.m. at the CVPS/Leahy Community Education Center at 160 Allen Street in Rutland.

“Young@Heart” is a funny, endearing, crowd-pleasing documentary that follows the worldwide sensation Young@Heart senior chorus from Northampton, MA. The two dozen spirited seniors, whose average age is 81, specialize in reinterpreting rock, punk and R&B classics from a unique perspective, performing songs that range from James Brown to Coldplay. The humorous and heartwarming film is about people stretching beyond the boundaries imposed on them by age, illness and society to achieve results that are stirring and soulful. The film ultimately dispels assumptions about old age, love, sex and death.

Following the film, Trillium, RAVNAH’s own celebrated hospice chorus, will perform a few selections.

The event is free and open to the public. As a light supper will be provided, please RSVP to Randi Cohn at 770-1537 or rcohn@ravnah.org.

2010-10-27T07:13:00.000-07:00

RAVNAH Names Employee of the Year - The Rutland Area Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice (RAVNAH) recently recognized physical therapist Marty Locsin, PT as its Employee of the Year. Locsin was honored for his superior work ethic, professionalism, courteousness, and commitment to his patients. “We receive letters every month from Marty’s patients praising both his outstanding therapy techniques, as well as his extremely pleasant manner,” said Jamie Belchak, Manager of RAVNAH’s rehab program. “As one patient recently expressed: He has a great knack of doing his job, yet makes you feel like you are visiting with a lifelong friend.” Also honored were recipients of RAVNAH’s HEALTH Matters awards, an employee recognition program for service excellence. Employees are chosen and recognized by their peers for outstanding service to the organization and patients served. Home healthcare aide Beverly Dennis, LNA received the Honesty award; hospice nurse Patti Kent, RN, the Excellence award; payroll coordinator, Charlene Cheney, Accountability award; hospice nurse Mary Brothers, CHPN, Leadership award; medical supply tech Sharon Bailey, Teamwork award; and customer service associate Jennifer Holdren, the Helpfulness award. The Rutland Area Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice is a not-for-profit, Medicare-certified home health agency, providing services ranging from highly-technical skilled care to wellness programs in the community.

2010-10-19T08:01:00.000-07:00

Minimum Wage $8.15. Just a reminder, the Vermont minimum wage will rise to $8.15 on January 1,up from $8.06. The US minimum wage is $7.25 (same for New Hampshire) and the Mass. minimum is $8.00.

2010-10-14T05:43:00.000-07:00

Rutland, Central Vermont on HomeCare Elite - Two VAHHA member agencies have been named to the HomeCare Elite - Rutland Area VNA and Hospice and the Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice. HomeCare Elite is the list of the top 25 percent of home care agencies whose performance in Quality of Care, Quality Improvement and Financial Performance are the best in the nation. The Rutland agency also was named as one of the top 500 agencies in the country out of the 9,300 agencies evaluated.

HomeCare Elite is the only independent performance recognition of its kind in the home care industry. Agencies are chosen from publicly available data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

2010-10-11T07:35:00.000-07:00

DOJ Considering Rulemaking on Web Accessibility - The US Department of Justice is crafting requirements for state and local governments and other entities such as home care agencies that are open to the public to make sure these websites are accessible to individuals with disabilities. As this rule moves forward, home care agencies with websites will need to review their website content and design for accessibility by individuals with visual, motor and cognitive impairments.

2010-10-08T05:47:00.000-07:00

House Passes Bill on Health Care Fraud - Last week, the US House of Representatives passed a bill that would address health care fraud. The legislation, HR 6130, gives the Department of Health and Human Services authority to exclude from Medicare and Medicaid any company affiliated with another company that has been convicted of health care fraud. Under current law, HHS cannot take action against affiliated companies unless those companies are also directly involved in fraud themselves.

2010-10-06T09:50:00.000-07:00

Conference on Complementary & Alternative Health Care, October 16 - Sponsored by Senator Bernie Sanders, this conference will feature a keynote talk by Dr. Josephine Briggs, the director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine; workshops on a range of health issues; and a plenary session looking at the advances made over the past 20 years and the challenges facing complementary and alternative health care. Vermont Technical College, Randolph, VT. For information and a registration form go to: www.sanders.senate.gov or call 1-800-339-9834.

2010-10-01T11:16:00.000-07:00

Perfect 10 - Congratulations to the Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice in Berlin, on a recently completed deficiency-free federal and state quality survey. CVHHH provides full, 24/7 home care and hospice to the people of Washington County, Vermont (and part of Orange County).

2010-09-29T06:22:00.000-07:00

Recession and Marriage - Are recession and marriage related? Maybe. According to US Census data, as the recession has lingered, the number of marriages has tumbled. Last year marriages hit an all-time low as just 52 percent of adults 18 and over were married compared to 57 percent in 2000, a significant drop. The never married include 46.3 percent of young adults 25-34.

Poverty - Unfortunatly the marriage numbers are less dramatic than the poverty numbers. According to the US Census data, the number of poor has hit record highs and the gap between the richest and poorest Americans is now the largest margin ever. The number of US household receiving food stamps in 2009 was 11.7 million, the highest total ever. One family in 10 is getting some form of government aid. Not a proud number.

2010-09-24T11:04:00.000-07:00

CMS Issues New Directive on PECOS (Provider Enrollment Chain and Ownership System, which can be used in lieu of the standard enrollment form.)

The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services instructs Medicare regional home health intermediaries to take the following "two-phase" approach:

Phase 1 - Issue "warning" edits to providers (on the remittance advice) effective October 1, 2010, in cases where a non-PECOS-enrolled physician ordered or referred the home health service. This warning message will "notify the billing provider that claims of this nature may not be paid in the future if the required data for the attending physician is not provided accurately on the claim." However, "Phase I will allow a claim to be paid" through December 31, 2010.

Phase 2 - Begin, effective January 1, 2011, to reject claims submitted for home health services ordered or referred by non-PECOS-enrolled physicians. As stated in the Transmittal, "During Phase 2, the claims will not be paid if the required information is missing or not accurate on the claim."

2010-09-22T13:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I called the Health Department's Bennington office. I got automated answering. The voice said: "If you do not speak English, press 1 now." If I didn't speak English, how would I know what to do?

2010-09-20T08:34:00.000-07:00

New Fraud Rules - This Thursday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) will post the new rules on fraud. CMS says new rules are needed because one in every 18 dollars spent by the federal government ($50 billion out of $900 billion) is spent on questionable care. The new rules suspend payments to a provider as soon as there has been a "credible allegation" of fraud, require Medicaid to be more aggressive in identifying fraudulant providers, and mandate that CMS rate all providers by their risk for engaging in fraud. Let's hope these rules find the crooks and don't hassle the legitimate providers. You can get a sneak preview of these rules at:

www:ofr.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2010-23579_PI.pdf.

This link will send you to the 187 page PDF file of the proposed rule.

2010-09-15T09:31:00.000-07:00

Food Stamps Benefit To Decrease - The Vermont Department for Children and Families has announced that the food stamp benefit (now known as 3Squares) will be reduced starting October 1 due to federally-mandated changes. The reductions should effect 16,000 of the 43,000 Vermonters who recieve this benefit. The cut in benefits will range from $7 to $40 per month. For someone using the 3Square benefit, a $7 to $40 a month cut is a big deal.

2010-09-11T04:52:00.000-07:00

New Provision: "Concurrent Care for Children"

On Thursday, CMS released a State Medicaid Director letter announcing the details for implementation of Section 2302 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, entitled "Concurrent Care for Children." The new provision in Medicaid and CHIP, which was effective upon enactment, allows children who have elected the hospice benefit to continue to receive curative and hospice services concurrently. CMS indicates that it is revising the Medicaid State plan hospice pages to reflect the benefit change and will require states to submit revisions to their state plan coverage language when the forms are available.

2010-09-07T09:14:00.000-07:00

Democrats' Campaign Hits One More Roadblock. The Democrats' campaign for Governor is hitting one roadblock after another. Last week, second-place finisher Doug Racine asked for a recount. Can't blame him - he lost by fewer than 200 votes in the recent primary. Nevertheless, this puts the campaing two weeks behind Republican Brian Dubie. And to make matters worse, today's headline in the Burlington Free Pree says: "Shumlin donor in conflict." Apparently David Blittersdorf, a member of the Clean Energy Development Fund, got a large grant from that organization for his business. Blittersdorf had recused himself from the voting and way back in early July Shumlin asked him to resign to eliminate any conflict of interest, so no problems there. But this headline can't help, especially for voters who only read headlines.

2010-09-03T13:16:00.000-07:00

State Revenues Down - State revenues for July are not good news. General Fund revenues for the month were 4.2% below budget. The state is facing a $112 million deficit next year. This won't help. This is only the first month of the fiscal year so there is a lot of time to rebound. Let's hope that happens.

2010-08-31T04:52:00.000-07:00

Maier is Out - Rep. Steven Maier of Addison, who for the past four years has been Chairman of the House Health and Welfare Committee, is not to running for relection. This is a big event as Maier has been a dominant players in health care in the House for most of the past decade. Not sure who will take over but clearly the next Chair has big shoes to fill. Maier is smart and thorough. He will not be easily replaced.

Letter from Maier

Dear Friends,

I am writing to let you know that I recently withdrew my candidacy for re-election in November. I have copied below my letter to the Secretary of State (which will also be published in the Addison Independent). As the letter suggests, I am pursuing a different job opportunity. The job is in VT and is health care-related, but since it is not yet final (despite best laid plans), I cannot provide additional information at this time.

This has been a difficult decision for me and it is tinged with both excitement and some sadness. My time is the legislature has been very rewarding, but after much thought and consultation, it is just clear that this is the right move for me right now - personally, professionally, and financially.

The Middlebury Democratic Town Committee will meet in the next few days to nominate a replacement for me (there is a process for this in state law), whose name will appear on the general election ballot along with Betty Nuovo's for Middlebury's 2-seat district. I believe there is at least one great candidate who is interested.

Thank you for all your support,

Steve
August 26, 2010

2010-08-27T07:51:00.000-07:00

Mother Theresa Coundown Clock Shuts Down - The Mother Theresa Coundown Clock to her 100 birthday, that was on the homepage of the National Association for Home Care, has stopped as her birthday was today. No more tick-tick-ticking down to the big day. NAHC is soliciting comments about Mother Theresa. Check out their website at www.nahc.org.

2010-08-20T08:58:00.000-07:00

CVHHH AGAIN RECEIVES HIGH MARKS IN PHYSICIAN SATISFACTION - Every year the Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice surveys physicians who refer at least three patients to the agency. The intent is to evaluate the degree to which physicians feel they and their patients are well served, and to identify any gaps in thier processes.

This year the physician response rate was 56% (33 of 59 responded). Response rates greater than 30% are considered exceptional.CVHHH received high praise in ever catagory.

Below are the average point scores for each area of physician satisfaction:
Based On A 5 Point Scale – With 5 Being The Highest
Satisfaction Area Average Point Score for MDs
Ease of referral process 4.7
Quality of care 4.6
Scope of services 4.6
Problem resolution 4.5
Communication 4.8
Overall Satisfaction 4.7

These high scores are a reflection of CVHHH's long history of collaborative relations with the physicians.

2010-08-17T09:52:00.000-07:00

Stimulus Money - Every wonder where all the stimulus money is going. Federal funds have paid for a nifty toy for the Department of Disabilities Aging and Independent Living - a high-tech, touch screen similar to what you see on some of the weather reports on television. Basically DAIL staff manuver through various slides simply by waving their hands across the screen. Necessity. Probably not. More boys and their toys. I want one.

2010-08-06T13:28:00.000-07:00

Passage of FMAP Extension Expected Next Week - Yesterday, the U.S. Senate voted 61-39 to pass a six-month extension through June 2011 of Medicaid's temporary enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) assistance to states. I assume both Senators Leahy and Sanders voted in support of the bill although I haven't yet seen the tally sheet. H.R. 1586 includes a scaled-back version of the FMAP extension that reduces funding from the original 6.2 percent for six months to 3.2 percent for the first additional quarter (January 2011 through March 2011) and 1.2 percent for the second quarter (April 2011 through June 2011). Even the reduced rate is a pretty good piece of change, however, as the total extra money should be about $40 million. For the same six-month period, states with high unemployment would continue to receive the additional percentage points in funding, as they do under current law. The estimated cost for this pared-down provision is $16.1 billion (from the original $24 billion). House Speaker Pelosi has called a Special Session for the week of August 9th for Representatives, currently on recess, to return to Washington to pass the package.

2010-08-02T12:34:00.000-07:00

Sanders Pushing for Waiver for Vermont - Senator Bernie Sanders told a crowd in Bellows Falls recently that he is seeking a health care waiver from President Obama for Vermont so that Vermont can set up a statewide single-payer health care system. Sanders also plans, with other members of Congress, to introduce legislation that would roll back to 2014 the current 2017 restriction for states to apply for a waiver in order to implement their own health care systems.

2010-07-23T08:46:00.000-07:00

CMS Seeking Comments on Hospice Calculation - The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is seeking comments on two proposed alternatives to determine the hospice cap. According to the National Association for Home Care, CMS is considering changing the Provider Statistical and Reimbursement Report (PS&R) to permit a hospice to review a more comprehensive array of information regarding a patient's prior hospice history.

Under the first option, CMS would establish a set number of years over which a beneficiary could be considered for the standard cap calculation. CMS is considering allowing hospice providers to request recalculation by the Medicare contractor for the cap using a longer time if appropriate.

The second option would defer major changes to the aggregate cap calculation until the hospice payment system is changed, which won't happen until at least 2013.

2010-07-22T08:08:00.000-07:00

2011 Northeast Home health Leadership Summit - Registration is now open for the 2011 Northeast Home Health Leadership Summit, to be held at the Colonade Hotel in Boston, January 19 and 20. The theme this year is "The Art of Leadership". For details go to http://www.nehomehealthsummit.com/.

2010-07-22T07:52:00.000-07:00

Naked Cowboy Sues Naked Cowgirl - New York's Naked Cowboy is suing the Naked Cowgirl. He says he came up with the idea first so get a life Naked Cowgirl. He wears briefs and a cowboy hat and she wears a bikini and cowboy hat. They both play the guitar. My guess is she makes more money than he does. As far as I know, there are no Naked cowboys or cowgirls in Vermont. But, I could be wrong.

2010-07-20T06:14:00.000-07:00

PPS Rules - The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) plans to release the new rules for home care prospective payment this Friday. The proposed rules will cut average home care payments by 4.75% effective January 1. This is considerably higher than the 3.25% that was mentioned earlier this year.

The face-to-face rule, which requires physicians to see their home care patients, will be explained as will the more strict rules for therapy visits. Apparently the proposed face-to-face rule says that telehealth visits will count as the face-to-face encounter. Not exactly sure how this would work, whether these could be run through the agency telehealth or whether these must be run through the physician's office to qualify. If through the physician's office, forget it, that won't happen.

CMA is taking comments on the proposal through September 15.

2010-07-16T06:02:00.000-07:00

Rutland VNA Selected as CIS Pilot Site - The Rutland Area VNA and Hospice was selected as one of the three pilot sites for the new Children Integrated Services experiment on bundled payments. Also selected were the Lamoille Family Center and the Northwestern Counseling and Support Service (NCSS) of Franklin/Grand Isle Counites. Basically what the state wants to do is to see if a "bundled payment" where one organization manages the funds for all the various players for all maternal and child health services in a region can produce better resutls at lower costs. The three selected represent three different type host organizations - home health, child services and mental health. If bundled payments works the state could go statewide next year. It will be interesteing to see if the results and payments differ much from one of these three groups to the next and whether the costs and services will be much different than the traditional programs where each agency handles its own money.

2010-07-16T04:27:00.000-07:00

Trigger Nets $266,000 - Although this is a "home care blog" sometimes the non home care news is so important that a comment is needed. Trigger (not Tigger for those of you too young to remember), Roy Rogers' old horse, that he had stuffed at its death, was sold at auction yesterday for $266,000. And Bullet the wonder dog fetched $35,000. I think I will stuff Kitty, my yellow and white cat, and see what I can get.

2010-07-15T08:26:00.000-07:00

FAT Land - Here's a shocker, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, West Virginia and Louisiana are the five fattest states, according to a recent report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Trust for America's Health. Mississippi has held king of fat for the past five years as 33.8% of the Mississippians are obese, according to the report, which isn't that much higher than the national average. According to the report, 2 of 3 Americans are either fat or obese. Vermont does better, with 22.8% considered obese (46 rank), but that is still pretty high. All right America, move away fromt the table, put down that Big Mac, Whopper, double fries and shake and run to your car, twice.

2010-07-14T10:37:00.000-07:00

Shumlin TV - Senator and gubernatorial candidate Peter Shumlin is not only the first candidate to run a television commercial, but also the first to run a second commercial. This time his daughters tell us what a great guy he is - real folksy, filmed from his kitchen and barn. On the plus side for him, on Monday the Vermont Freedom to Marry Action Committee gave him thumbs up. That group sent out a plea to its members to send him money, donate their time and vote for him. Not sure how much he'll get from this group but, like most single-issue interest groups, their members are focused and eager.

In the meantime, Senator and darkhorse candidate Susan Bartlett says she is staying in the race even though she hasn't raised much money. It's votes, not money that count. Good thing because her money total should be far below the other four candidates in the Democratic primary (totals will be posted today).

On the other end of the money tree is Republican Brian Dubie who has a free ride to the general election. His total posted today could exceed $1,000,000.

2010-07-12T10:45:00.001-07:00

HCA and Home Health - This morning, several home care reps. (Ann Mallett, Larry Goetschius, Nancy Warner, Kathy Demars and me) met with Mike Bertrand, the new Commissioner of Health Care Administration, and HCA Assistant General Council Rebecca Heinz. This was pretty much a meet and greet session as Mike has been on the job about a month. Message from HCA to home care - the past CON battle is over so let's not revisit what has already been decided. Message from home care to HCA - don't forget home care is a major player, we serve thousands of Vermoters, make nearly a million home visits a year and have a great impact on other sectors of the health care system.

Concerning the Certificate of Need study committee that was established by the Legislature this year, Rebecca said that group probably won't get going until September. She (and everyone at HCA) is buried, she said, under the fedral heatlh reform avalanche - basically trying to make sense of what this means for Vermont, not to mention that summer is hospital budget season.

2010-07-09T06:20:00.000-07:00

No News On Challenges - Still no news on the various Challenges for Change work groups. I expect to get e-mails next week on what's up.

I got an e-mail from Bill Clark at the Agency of Human Services. He is in charge of the new Primary Care Workforce Taskforce that was included in the health care legisaltion passed this winter. He is including me on this group. I have been on the AHEC Primary Care Worforce committee for several years. The first meeting of this group should be soon. Any thoughts on what this group should do are wlecome.

I sent an e-mailed to Craig Jones, director of the Blueprint for Health. As you know home care is now on the Executive Committee. Haven't yet got an answer (just sent this yesterday). I will volunteer my name unless someone else wants to represent home health. Let me know if you do.

2010-07-07T10:11:00.000-07:00

First on TV - Sen. Peter Shumlin is the first candidate for Governor to run a television comercial. If you haven't seen it yet, it copies the UPS commercials with the guy who draws crude, stick-like pictures on a whiteboard. Effective? Who knows. Currenly, Shumlin is reported third in the polls behind Secretary of State Deb Markowitz and fellow Senator Doug Racine. Shumlin's comment on single-payer health insurance (he supports it) is likely geared toward grabbing the far left single-payer advocates. He lost the unions to Markowitz and Racine so he needs a base group. The single-payer group is small but devoted. Should he get the nomination, Shumlin's support for single-payer could backfire.

All three Democrats trail Republican Brian Dubie but then there have been questions about the accuracy of the polling. In fact, two polling firms, Research 2000(R2K) and Daily Kos, are in a spitting contest. According to this week's Seven Days, Kos is suing R2K alleging that R2K has produced questionable results. R2K denies the charge and is threatening to countersue.

In the meantime, if you read a press release yesterday that Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy is dead, he isn't. Like Twain, the reports of his death were greatly exaggerated. Apparently the police are invetingating the death hoaxes (the phoney death of several other senators also were listed). Like most modern day hoaxes, this one was spread on the internet.

2010-07-06T08:06:00.000-07:00

Tringe Joins MacLean, Meehan and Rice. In what has to be a coup for the lobby firm of Maclean, Meehan and Rice, LLC, Heidi Tringe, Special Assistant to Governor James Dougles, joins that firm in August. Tringe, who started with the Governor as the director of Legislative Affairs, was named Special Assistant in January 2008. Tringe has worked both for Vermont Senator James Jeffords and President George Bush. As Douglas' Special Assistant, she has been the go-to staffer for health care advocates and others.

2010-07-02T05:24:00.000-07:00

Home Care Agencies Hot - According to Home Health Line, sales of home care agencies climbed 55% from the first quarter of 2009 to the first quarter of 2010. The majority of agencies sold were mid-sized agencies averaging $2 million to $20 million in revenues.

2010-07-02T04:57:00.000-07:00

Payment Change? Yesterday, at the VAHHA Board of Director's meeting, Brendan Hogan, Acting Commissioner at the Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living, said he is seriously considering the proposal from the Rutland VNA for a prospective payment for Choices for Care and traditional Medicaid. This is the first good news on this proposal in the past four years. Hogan also said he would consider our ideas on seperate entity - basically we think the state's current interpretation of the rule is too restrictive. This is also good news. Maybe there is a light at the end of the tunnel and not just a train rumbling down the tracks.

2010-07-01T04:38:00.000-07:00

It looks like Helen Riehle, long-time director of the Vermont Program for Quality in Healthcare, is leaving, at least according to a recent classified advertisment in the Times Argus. For those of you with long memories, Helen was the Chairwoman of the Senate Health and Welfare Committee prior to her selection as CEO at VPQHC. She is a highly respected health planner and both as a senator and CEO, very pro home health.

2010-06-25T04:34:00.000-07:00

Mother Theresa B-Day Countdown Clock. If you have ever wondered when Mother Theresa was born, to the second, check out the National Association for Home Care's Mother Theresa Countdown Clock (NAHC.org.) The clock is counting down the days, hours, minutes, and seconds to Mother Theresa's 100th birthday. You can also add your memories.

2010-06-24T11:33:00.000-07:00

Frazier vs. Ali - It’s the Rumble in the Jungle, the Thrilla in Manila in Lamoille County this year as political heavyweights Republican Rich Westman and Democrat David Yacovone fight for Senator Susan Bartlett’s seat as she runs, with four other Democrats, for governor. Westman, former chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and current Commissioner of Taxes (until 6-25) represented Cambridge from 1983 to last year. Yacovone is a two-term veteran who was the author of the legislation that led to the home and community waiver. Yacovone currently is a lobbyist for the hospital association. Both are strong supporters of home health. The Republicans have the most to gain in this election as their current numbers are a feeble 9 or 30 senators. With five Senate Dems. running for governor, this is their chance to cut their voting deficit. There will be no knockout in this bout but rather a close one or two point decision.

2010-06-24T10:35:00.000-07:00

Frazier vs. Ali - The Lamoille Senate race should be one of the closest of the year as political heavyweights Rich Westman - former longtime representave (1983 through last year)and David Yacovone, current lobbyist for the hospital association and former legislator, are fighting for Senator Susan Bartlett's seat. Both men are experienced political operatives as Republican Westman led his party and chaired appropriations for several years and Yacovone was author of the legislation that led to the home and community-based wiaver. Who wins probably won't make too much difference to home health as each is a strong home care vote. The Republicans, however, have the most to gain as their current tally (9 or 30) is pretty feable. With five Dems. running for governor (including Bartlett) and a few others stepping down, this could be their year to cut their deficit.

2010-06-24T10:17:00.001-07:00

Lamoille Senate Race - Fazier vs. Ali - The Lamoille Senate race between political heavyweights Rich Westman and David Yacovone may be the closest and most interesting races of the year. Both men are accomplished political operatives. Westman was in the House of Representatives from 1983 until last year when he was appointed to the Travel Dept. He was Appropriations chairman for several years. When Yacovone was in the House he was the author of the legislation that led to the Medicaid waiver and then Choices for Care. Yacovonne currently is a lobbyist for the hospital association. For home care who wins probably doesn't make much difference as each is a strong home health supporter. The Republican Party has the most to gain, however, since the current nine votes out of 30 doesn't translate to power. With five Dems. running for governor this is the Republican's chance to gain some ground.

2010-06-24T05:53:00.000-07:00

Year-round Grief Support Group - Lamoille Home Health and Hospice now has a year-round Grief Support Group. The group meets the first and third Tuesday of each month at the Morrisville office. The goal of the group is to provide an ongoing, safe, confidential environment for members to share their experiences and learn together about how to cope with grief. For more information call Oona Borelle at 888-4651.

2010-06-24T05:50:00.000-07:00

Year-round Grief Support Group - Lamoille Home Health and Hospice now has a year-round Grief Support Group. This group meets on the first and third Tuesday of every month. The goal of the group is to provide an ongoing, safe, confidential environment for members to share their experience and learn together about how to cope with brief. For more information contact Oona Borello, ay 888-4651.

2010-06-24T05:49:00.000-07:00

FMAP Update - Last Thursday, Senate Democrats except Nelson (D-NE) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT) voted for the extension of additional Medicaid assistance, in the form of enhanced federal matching funds for state Medicaid programs, was instituted under last year's economic stimulus package. All Republicans voted against and it failed to garner the sixty votes needed. Senate Democrats plans to regroup and try again. Republican support is needed to get this done.

2010-06-24T05:33:00.000-07:00

Year-round Grief Support Group - Lamoille Home Health & Hospice now has a year-round Grief Support Group beginning which started in May. This group will meet on the first and third Tuesday of every month, from 5:00pm – 6:30pm at Lamoille Home Health, 54 Farr Avenue in Morrisville. Our first meeting will be May 4, 2010. The goal of the Grief Support Group is to provide an ongoing, safe, confidential environment for members to share their experiences and learn together about how to cope with grief. This group is open to anyone experiencing grief and loss. For more information please contact Oona Borello, MSW at Lamoille Home Health at 888-4651.

Breastfeeding Support Group
3rd Wednesday of every month Church of the Nazarene (on Rte 15 between Hyde Park and Johnson) 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Snacks provided - Older children welcome For more information, call Emily at 888-4651 or Vicki at 888-3470

Twin Support Group
1st Wednesday of every month Church of the Nazarene (on Rte 15 between Hyde Park and Johnson) 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Snacks provided - Older siblings are welcome to join, too! Join and talk with other moms of multiples For more information, call Emily at 888-4651

Alzheimer's Support Group
Meets on the third Thursday of each month.
Are you caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s? Lamoille Home Health & Hospice invites you to join an Alzheimer’s Support Group. Our support group strives to give spouses, families, and caregivers a safe, comfortable space to meet others who are experiencing similar challenges of caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s. The group offers an opportunity for members to share their experiences and provide information and support to each other. The Alzheimer’s Support Group meets on the third Thursday of each month at 2:00pm at Lamoille Home Health. For more information please contact Oona Lee, MSW at 888‐4651.

2010-06-24T03:57:00.001-07:00

Pictured left to right—Laura Driscoll, RN, Sue Brown, PT and Jamie Belchak, PTSue Brown Retires After 34 Years at RAVNAHPhysical therapist and former Rehab Manager, Sue Brown, retired after 34 years of service at Rutland Area Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice. Sue was also the first physical therapist in Vermont to become OASIS certified. Congratulations to Sue on her retirement!