Tag Archive for: Elizabeth Dole

House Passage of Bill to Provide Veterans Improved Healthcare and Benefits Will Increase Access to PACE

/in , /by

This article was originally published on NPA Online.

WASHINGTON, DC – November 18, 2023 – The National PACE Association (NPA) today said that the U.S. House of Representatives’ passage of the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act will give veterans increased access to the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly across the nation.

“NPA applauds the definitive action of the U.S. House of Representatives to dramatically increase the ability of veterans to enroll in local Programs of All-Inclusive Care (PACE) through their VA benefits and age in place. We are pleased Congress has recognized that older veterans with VA health benefits should have the same access to home and community-based services, such as PACE, as other seniors,” said Shawn Bloom, president and CEO of NPA.”

Bloom added, “NPA commends the efforts of House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Mike Bost (R-IL12), House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Ranking Member Mark Takano (D-CA39), Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester (D-MT) and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Ranking Member Jerry Moran (R-KS) to work together on compromise language so the bill could move forward in the 118th Congress. Further, we strongly urge the Senate to take the Dole Act up swiftly in the coming days.”

Under current law not every eligible enrolled veteran has ready access to HCBS and PACE in particular. A section of this bill, sponsored by Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ6), would ensure that any veteran with U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care benefits, who is eligible for and needs home and community-based services (HCBS), including long term care services and supports (LTSS), would be able to receive such care and services at home, including through (PACE).

Providing care at home and in the community not only enhances the quality of life for veterans, their families and their caregivers, but also reduces VA health expenditures. Generally, the cost of HCBS is notably less than institutional care. Further, the VA has found that the use of HCBS creates additional savings by either delaying admission to a nursing home or avoiding such an admission altogether as well as lowering the risk of preventable hospitalizations.

“Our nation has a duty to our veterans to provide them with the best care possible through their VA health benefits, and PACE is proven to provide high quality care and reduce caregiver burden while being cost-efficient. NPA’s member PACE organizations always have been proud

to serve veterans and are eager to help more receive needed care in their preferred setting – their homes and communities. We congratulate Congress for the changes this bill will make and look forward to continuing to work with them so that all older adults will have affordable access to PACE,” Bloom stated.

The National PACE Association (NPA) works to advance the efforts of PACE programs, which coordinate and provide preventive, primary, acute and long-term care services so older individuals can continue living in the community. The PACE model of care is centered on the belief that it is better for the well-being of seniors with chronic care needs and their families to be served in the community whenever possible. For more information, visit www.NPAonline.org and follow @TweetNPA.

PACE health care model an help improve services for Ma veterans

/in , /by

This article was originally posted on Metrowest Daily News. Read the full article here.

No one has sacrificed more for our country than veterans. Yet for years, Veterans Administration Medical Centers have been plagued by challenges. COVID-19 and the Afghan war — our longest ever — have put new strains on the VA. Policymakers in Washington are working hard to keep pace with demand for veterans services by building new facilities.

To be sure, adding new infrastructure is a welcome and important part of the strategy to improve health care services to veterans. Another is employing innovative care models that have been proven to work in the private health care market and can be married to the existing VA system.

One of these care models is the Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), which is offered throughout Massachusetts under several different names, including Fallon Health’s Summit ElderCare.

PACE programs use an interdisciplinary team approach to keep older Americans with complex, chronic conditions safe and healthy while living independently in their own homes. PACE enrollees typically receive care at home and in a PACE center. Such care can include primary care, therapies, meals, socialization, medication management, transportation and any other care or service needed to maintain the highest level of functioning.

Ninety-five percent of enrollees are able to live in the community, outside a nursing home, with the support of PACE. And studies show that PACE and programs like it result in improved outcomes.

A report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found that PACE members “are significantly less likely to be hospitalized, to visit the ED (emergency department) or be institutionalized.”

In Massachusetts, a study of a similar care model, Senior Care Options (SCO), found a “beneficial impact on enrollees in both NF (nursing facility) residency and risk of death.”

During the pandemic, PACE programs demonstrated the strength of their person-centered model of care by keeping enrollees safe at home. The rates of COVID-19 infection and death among PACE enrollees were one-third of those incurred by nursing home residents.

Congress is working on legislation that would marry PACE programs and VA Medical Centers. It is called the “Elizabeth Dole Home and Community Based Services for Veterans and Caregivers Act,” named for the former senator whose late husband, Bob Dole, was also a U.S. senator and a wounded hero in World War II.

Specifically, it would establish partnerships between PACE and VA Medical Centers that are within the service area of a PACE program.

“Age, combined with their unique health needs, makes many elderly veterans especially vulnerable to going into nursing homes and institutional care,” said Congresswoman Julia Brownley, Chair of the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health, who introduced the Dole bill. “Our nation’s veterans deserve the right to age comfortably and with dignity in their homes. The research is clear: providing health services and assistance in home settings improves health outcomes and delays, if not prevents, nursing home placement for people with disabilities and the elderly. However, VA’s current programs need to be improved and expanded to ensure that all veterans have access to these types of services.”

Given the hardships they’ve endured for the rest of the country, veterans deserve access to the most innovative and successful health care strategies we have. We urge Congress to pass the Dole bill.