Sycom GM RSS feed generatorFri, 26 Feb 2010 11:52:51 GMThttp://volunteersofamerica.org/default.aspxChallenges, Optimism Remain For Senators After Public Option Amendments Fail Health Care Reform UpdateCopyright 2009en-usMon, 15 Mar 2010 08:27:02 GMT1http://volunteersofamerica.org/Get-Involved/Advocate/Issue-Alerts_1/Healthcare_Reforms.aspxWhat is happening with health care reform? A quick view on where the White House is focusing and what Republican and Democrat leaders are saying now that the Democrats do not have their "super majority."Tue, 26 Jan 2010 14:47:10 GMThttp://volunteersofamerica.org/Get-Involved/Advocate/Issue-Alerts_1/Health-Care-Reform-What-It-Currently-Means-for-You-and-Your-Aging-Parents.aspxThe Q's and A's of Health Care Reform (as they relate to older Americans!) Are you caring for a parent even though their spouse is healthy? Are you concerned about how they will continue to pay for their care? Currently, levels of Medicaid protection fluctuate for spouses depending on their health status. Under both the House and Senate versions of health care reform, there are protections against "spousal impoverishment" for those with spouses entering nursing facilities. What about the $500 billion dollars in "cuts" or "savings" to Medicare? There has been a great deal of information and misinformation about the billions to be saved from Medicare that many fear are just cuts. The honest answer is that there are a few cuts - these are primarily focused on Medicare home and community based services. Can older Americans receive care in their own homes? Even if they don't have any money and are eligible for nursing facility care? For Medicare eligible seniors who qualify for nursing home care, there are services for those who wish to remain in their homes and at outpatient care facilities. The new reform measures will require better follow-up from doctors to reduce hospitalizations and infections. For Medicaid eligible seniors that qualify for nursing home care, there are a great many programs that would allow you to stay at home. These include programs that would help states pay for more home and community based care, providing more opportunities for both seniors and disabled to have more choice and maintain their independence. Is there insurance to cover long-term care costs for older Americans? If passed into law, there will be a five-year vesting period (much like a pension) during which premiums of about $50 a month are paid into an public insurance plan. Once vested and assesses with two activities of daily living (ADLs) for which assistance is needed, individuals qualify for payment of $50 to $75 a day to direct care and help ofThu, 17 Dec 2009 15:53:07 GMThttp://volunteersofamerica.org/Get-Involved/Advocate/Issue-Alerts_1/Health-Care-Reform-Update-120909.aspxThe Senate Democratic leadership has released HR 3590, the 2,074-page Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The bill combines the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee bill marked up this summer and the Senate Finance Committee bill marked up earlier this fall. On the whole, the combined bill resembles the Finance bill more closely than the HELP bill, but it does include important elements from the HELP bill, the most prominent of which is provision for the community health insurance (public) option - though currently there is a great deal of debate looking to modify this option to get to the needed 60 votes for passage. Wed, 09 Dec 2009 14:26:45 GMThttp://volunteersofamerica.org/Get-Involved/Advocate/Issue-Alerts_1/US-House-Health-Care-Reform-Update-.aspxAs many of you are aware, late Saturday night the U.S. House of Representatives passed their version of health care reform -- The Affordable Health Care for America Act, H.R. 3962 -- by a vote of 220 - 215. The vote was all Democrats and one Republican voting in favor and 39 Democrats and the balance of Republicans voting no. They also covered H.R. 3961, the so called "doc fix" legislation, that would keep the 21 percent cut to physicians' Medicare rates from occurring. It passed with a vote of 242 - 192. Below is an update on the House version of health care reform. Please note, under Mandates there are specific requirements broken out for employers and under Highlights note the CLASS Act - which provides a voluntary public paid long term care insurance program Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:53:17 GMThttp://volunteersofamerica.org/Get-Involved/Advocate/Issue-Alerts_1/Issue-Alerts.aspxAlthough Senate Democrats are still feeling the impact from yesterday's Finance Committee turn-down of the public option, they are forging ahead. Public plan supporters vowed to keep up their fight as the bill moves toward the Senate floor, and then to negotiations with the House. Democratic leaders in both chambers are pushing for floor votes in the fall. But first the bill has to get out of the Finance Committee, where more hurdles are expected as senators reconvene Wednesday for their sixth day of work. Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:50:16 GMThttp://volunteersofamerica.org/Get-Involved/Advocate/Issue-Alerts_1/Copy of Funding-Freezes-for-Vital-Housing-Programs.aspxFri, 26 Feb 2010 11:52:51 GMT