Regional Digest
• Massachusetts has ironed out a proposal that would give visiting nurses and home health aides a modest raise, but many home care executives have criticized the plan, saying it is poorly conceived and inadequate. The lack of government money for home care is so dire, the Visiting Nurses Association of Boston (VNA) said it might be forced to to stop serving Medicaid patients altogether, reports the Telegram & Gazette of Worcester, MA. If that happened, 4,000 of the agency’s 16,000 patients would be without home visits, said VNA President Joanne Handy. The state is willing to raise hourly payments to agencies for nursing care by 11%, from $56.94 to $63.34, the Telegram & Gazette reported, and bump up hourly payments to aides from $19.60 to $20.71. The federal government pays 50% of the hourly allotment, and the state pays the rest. But, the Telegram & Gazette reported, the Home & Health Care Association of Massachusetts said proposed raises were calculated improperly by the state and are not enough to cover salary, transportation, supplies, and other administrative costs.
• Payments for home healthcare services in Aberdeen in Scotland have been deferred until next year, reported the Aberdeen Press & Journal, because of budget pressures. The new charging policy came into effect Nov. 7, but invoices will not be issued until Jan. 11.
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