Home Care Cuts to Reimbursement

Tariq Hafeez, Esq.

Owners and operators of home care agencies are bracing for significant reimbursement cuts by Medicare set to begin in 2014 and run through 2017.  CMS’ June 27 proposal to drop payments by the maximum amount suggested under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will result in an average of 14% reduction in reimbursements over the next four years.

These proposed cuts, according to industry analysts and home care owners, will result in an industry shake up leading to many home health agencies either closing their doors or consolidation. This may present an opportunity for some agencies to acquire other agencies or consolidate creating greater opportunities for growth. On the other hand, smaller agencies may be forced out of the market due to the cuts and inability to compete in a tighter and more competitive market.

While CMS estimates that Medicare would save $22 billion as a result of the drop in reimbursement rates, home care agencies are concerned about the disruption to their industry and the adverse effect of the closure and consolidation of agencies on patients. Moreover, the reduction of home care will likely result in increased costs to Medicare long term from increased hospital readmissions, emergency room visits and lower quality care.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act calls for CMS to “rebase” home health payments through 2017, and shareholders had hoped the final cut would be softer than the proposed 14% maximum rate reduction, which will be phased in evenly over four years.

This reduction would be the latest hit in a rough stretch for home health providers.  CMS has been chiseling away at reimbursement—in part as a way to deter perceived fraud and abuse and also to target previously large profit margins. For the foreseeable future, providers will be forced to adapt to a learner payment environment than previously, and will face challenges to become more efficient in delivering quality care to Medicare beneficiaries.

Tariq Hafeez, Esq. focuses his practice on health care law and regulation.  If you are a home care owner or operator and have questions on how the new cuts may affect your agency, please contact Tariq at 248-380-0000.

The State of Colorado Finalizes First Gay Divorce

Melissa A. Cox, Esq.

 

Last month, the State of Colorado finalized the first legally recognized same-sex divorce case.

Juli Yim and Lorelei Jones were married in Massachusetts in 2009, where same-sex marriage is legally recognized.  In July 2013, Colorado legalized their divorce making them the first recognized same-sex marriage to be legally dissolved.

Although gay couples are not permitted to marry in Colorado, gay couples who were legally wed elsewhere can seek and obtain a divorce under the Colorado state statute.

On the contrary, the Texas Court of Appeals recently dismissed a divorce action ruling that the Texas state statute did not provide for divorce of same-sex couples. The Texas Supreme Court has taken the issue on appeal but has not yet heard arguments in the matter.

Read more: http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/22966251/first-gay-divorce-finalized-in-colorado#ixzz2dCkd79ld

http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2013/08/texas_supreme_court_to_decide.php

If you have questions about Michigan divorce law, contact attorney Melissa Cox at (248) 380-0000.

 

Remote Texter May Be Liable for Distracted Driver’s Crash

Matthew Worley, Esq.

In 2009, David Kubert and his wife were riding their motorcycle when they were struck by a pickup truck that crossed the center line.  Both riders on the motorcycle were severely injured causing them each to lost their left leg.  They sued the driver of the vehicle who had been texting when the accident occurred.  The case against the driver was settled.

 

However, in a recently released opinion of the New Jersey Court of Appeals, the court held that the person who sent the text to the driver can also be held liable for injuries caused in the resulting accident.  This potential liability only arises if the individual sending the text knew they were being viewed by the recipient while that individual was driving.

Specifically, the court stated that “a person has a duty not to text someone who is driving if the texter knows, or has special reason to know, the recipient will view the text while driving.”

While this is a New Jersey opinion and not binding in Michigan, it does evidence a growing trend among states to decrease distracted driving.  Presently, more than 40 states, including Michigan, have passed laws that prohibit texting while driving.  It is not yet known if this New Jersey decision will create a new standard to be followed by other states.

While this isn’t law in Michigan, at least not yet, it is good practice is not to send text messages to a person if you know that person is driving.

If you have questions about Michigan’s ban on texting while driving, or have other legal questions, contact the experienced legal team by calling (248) 380-0000 or online at www.fb-firm.com. 

To read the New Jersey court opinion, please visit: http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/opinions/a1128-12.pdf

Little-Used Tax Credit for Hiring Disabled Vets Can Be a Boon to Employers

There is a significant tax benefit for employers who hire a qualified veteran.  A tax return credit is available to those who hire vets before December 31, 2013.  The business can receive up to $9,600 in tax credit as part of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC). The credit is part of other business-related tax credits on the Form 3800, General Business Credits.

Are many employers claiming the credit early next year? Right now, it is hard to say.  The numbers show that more vets are being hired: according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, job numbers have been slowly and steadily increasing for the past several years. In fact, the employment rate for veterans is currently much higher than that of the national average compared to civilian employment.

The unemployment rate for vets is currently at 6.3 percent, down from 6.6 percent in May 2013. And that's a drop from June 2012, which had an unemployment rate for veterans of 7.2 percent – mostly affecting Gulf War Era veterans.  The latest drop in vet unemployment rates seems to have been caused at least in part by the Veterans Administration pushes for greater employment and visibility for vets, including Hiring Our Heroes and the Veteran Retraining and Assistance Program. Also, say veteran advocates, there seems to be a greater acceptance from civilian employers that hiring veterans means access to employees with extensive training, proven discipline and undeniable experience. A number of large corporations and nonprofit groups have launched programs and initiatives to hire more of the nation's veterans.

To get the credit, the employer must hire a qualified veteran. A qualified veteran is someone who has served on active duty (not including training) in the U.S. Armed Forces for more than 180 days, or who was discharged or released from active duty for a service-connected disability. Additionally, they  must be hired as an employee prior to December 31, 2013, and must be appropriately certified by the State Workforce Agency (SWA) as: a member of a family which receives food stamp assistance for three or more months during the previous 12 months prior to hiring; unemployed for four or more weeks, though less than six months, within the 12 months prior to the hiring;  gainfully entitled to their service compensation disability which was service-connected; hired not more than one year after their discharge or release from active duty. The vet must not be related to the employer, have worked for the employer previously, be a dependent of the employer or worked fewer than 120 hours during a one-year period.

Source:

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t05.htm

More Colleges Adopting 8 Steps for Success for College-Bound Vets

Jim Fausone

Veteran Advocate

 

The White House is pushing for postsecondary educational opportunities and better employment opportunities for returning veterans. To that end, the Department of Education and the Department of Veterans Affairs are challenging colleges and universities to adopt pro-veteran, pro-education best practices. The “8 Keys to Success” proposed by the Obama Administration was unveiled during the Disabled American Veterans National Convention earlier this year in Orlando, Fla.

The "8 Keys to Success" includes specific steps for educational communities to adopt in order to support veterans. More than 250 universities and community colleges gave adopted the 8 Steps to help vets obtain their higher education degrees and then certificates, licenses and credentials to become highly skilled workforce members.

The Education Department brought together more than 100 specialists from nonprofits, foundations, veterans service organizations and recently returned vets to develop an approach which could be applied to both in-person and online or "distance" learning for vets.   

The “8 Keys to Success” incorporate sustained and consistent support from campus heads, a culture of trust across the campus, an early alert system to support vets who may be struggling before they are overwhelmed,  a designated space for vets on each campus, outreach with local organizations and communities for services, an overarching demographic collection system to track retention numbers and degrees conferred, an offering of professional development for faculty and staff on vet-focused issues, and a system of practices that work for incoming vets.

President Obama signed an order in 2012 to establish protections for military, vets and families, the Principles of Excellence. As part of the Principles of Excellence, the Veterans Administration is expanding its programs, VetSuccess on Campus (VSOC) and Veterans Integration to Academic Leadership (VITAL) programs, designed to put vets in touch with VA-generated resources. VetSuccess on Campus is currently used in 16 U.S. states, in 32 campus sites, and is expanding this year, with thousands of higher education campuses either developing or further expanding Veterans Success Centers in light of the latest influx of investment from the VA. VSOC is currently located at 32 campus sites in 16 states and is expanding to additional campuses in 2013.

More returning service members are attending college on their return to civilian life due to the Post-9/11 GI Bill. The VA has paid out an estimated $30 billion since 2009; more than one million vets, service members, families have obtained an education through the Bill.

Sources

http://www.wbez.org/news/valor-games-disabled-veterans-begin-108375
http://www.va.gov/opa/speceven/valor_games/

Veterans Disability Attorney Comments on Shrinking Disability Benefits Backlog

In an address to disabled veterans, President Obama announced that the backlog of disability claims was shrinking. At the Disabled American Veterans annual meeting earlier this year, Obama stated that the backlog of disability benefits claims had shrink by as much as 20 percent in the past five months. But, he conceded, a new wave of claims was coming in to the Veterans Administration. Some of those claims are from service members who served in Vietnam and are looking for care for ailments they believe stem from their decades-past exposure to Agent Orange, as well as veterans most recently returned from Iraq and Afghanistan with traumatic brain injuries, post-traumatic stress disorder and physical injuries.

"Any efforts to decrease the extensive backlog of disability claims are greatly needed and appreciated," commented James Fausone, a veterans disability attorney. "Many of the service members who have filed disability claims have been waiting for a shockingly long time just to get their claims processed, much less disbursed."

The White House is committed to boosting the amount of spending available for vet services to attend to their education and job prospects as well as the physical and mental health and homeless issues so many vets face, Obama said. There is also a push to better support additional hiring of vets at the Department of Veterans Affairs, and increase overtime pay to clear up the backlog of claims.

According to the VA, 64 percent of claims still pending are supplemental claims filed by vets asking for additional benefits. Though the sequestration cuts took effect in March 2013, veteran spending was exempted, allowing funding to go to decreasing the countless disability benefits currently backlogged at the VA.  Obama stated that Congress needed to work together to reduce the deficit and to keep the promises of support ad benefits to veterans.   

Though World War I's last U.S. veteran died more than two years ago, Obama said to the 34,000 attendees, survivor benefits are still going to the descendants of the men who fought then, and in the Spanish-American War. Benefits are even going to a Civil War veteran's daughter. Benefits will also be going to the descendants of this wave of service people. 

Source

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/11/us/obama-assures-disabled-veterans-they-will-get-aid.html?_r=0

Michigan Supreme Court Provides Judges & Attorneys With Online Child Protection Toolkit

Melissa Cox, Esq.

A new online toolkit is complete to assist judges and lawyers in handling child protection cases.

The kit offers information about hearings at various stages and includes a description of the hearing.  It also provides applicable court rules and statutes, bench cards, recommended court forms, links to training videos and other training materials, administrative memos and other resources.

The kit sets forth detailed guidelines for judges to follow when determining either to order reunification of the child and parents(s) or to order an alternative permanent home setting for the child.

The toolkit is created by the Child Welfare Services Division of the Supreme Court Administrative Office and can be found here.

http://courts.mi.gov/administration/scao/officesprograms/cws/cwstoolkit/pages/default.aspx

If you have any questions regarding Child Protective Service Proceedings, please contact Melissa Cox at 248-380-0000 or mcox@fb-firm.com.