Policymakers and National Organizations, Trades Urge DOL to Delay Home Care Rule

Posted Oct. 1, 2014 | Federal policymakers, state leaders and national stakeholder groups are ramping up attention on the Department of Labor’s recent changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The rule will impact most Medicaid programs, though to varying degrees. It is scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2015.

America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the trade association for the health insurance industry, weighed in last week with a letter to Labor Secretary Thomas Perez that supported strongly the requests by states and representatives of individuals with disabilities for an 18-month delay of the regulation’s effective date. AHIP’s September 17 letter follows requests for a delay and additional guidance from Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber (D) and the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services.

In addition, several congressional leaders submitted a letter yesterday, September 30, requesting Secretary Perez suspend the Final Rule. Sen. Mike Johanns (R-NE) and Senate HELP Committee Ranking Member Lamar Alexander (R-TN) lead the bicameral effort in the Senate, with Reps. John Kline (R-MN) and Tim Walberg (R-MI) leading the effort in the House of Representatives. More than a dozen other Republicans signed onto the letter.

These efforts join similar requests made by the National Association of Medicaid Directors (NAMD); National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities (NASUAD); National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services (NASDDDS); National Council on Disability (NCD); and, a multi-stakeholder group inclusive of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR), Autistic Self Advocacy Network, and National Council on Independent Living, among several others.

Copies of these letters, and additional resources on the Final Rule, appear below the fold.