Strengthen the Voice of Home Care

The California Legislature has reconvened to begin working on bills and budget items that will have a direct impact on home health, home care, and hospice services. CAHSAH’s Policy, Advocacy and Public Affairs (PAPA) Committee reviewed over 150 bills and established the top legislative priorities that will be advocated during CAHSAH’s Annual Lobby Day Event which will be held over a three-day period, April 22-24, 2025.  It is critically important for the home care industry to show its force in numbers and strength, and this virtual Zoom event is the perfect venue for that to happen.

This event is free for CAHSAH members and is designed to provide you with convenient talking points on all the key legislative priorities. Participants will be briefed in the morning and teamed with seasoned lobby day leaders who will guide the discussion during the legislative appointments which will take place over three days. CAHSAH’s Legislative Specialist will arrange all appointments with Assembly and Senate legislative offices.

Steve Davidson, Chair of CAHSAH’s PAPA Committee, extends a personal invitation to you and your staff to engage with your peers and meet your constituent legislators. 

Event Agenda

• Welcome Address- CAHSAH’s Board Chair, Julie Lehmann, CAHSAH’s Policy, Advocacy and Public Affairs (PAPA) Committee Chair, Steve Davidson, and CAHSAH’s President, Dean Chalios
• Policy Briefing on Legislative Priorities and Questions
• Lobbying Pointers and Capitol Update
• Keynote Legislative Speaker
• Legislative Appointments
• Advocacy Priorities

AB 315 (Bonta D) Medi-Cal: Home and Community-Based Alternatives Waiver: This bill would authorize the expansion of the Medi-Cal Home and Community Based Waiver by expanding the number of waiver slots and would require the Department of Health Care Services by March 1, 2026, to seek any necessary amendments to the waiver to ensure that there is sufficient capacity to enroll all eligible individuals who are currently on a waiting list for the waiver. CAHSAH supports this bill.

AB 510 (Addis D) Health care coverage: utilization review: appeals and grievances: This bill would, upon request, require that an appeal or grievance regarding a decision by a health care service plan or disability insurer delaying, denying, or modifying a health care service based in whole or in part on medical necessity, be reviewed by a licensed physician who is competent to evaluate the specific clinical issues involved in the health care service being requested, and of the same or similar specialty as the requesting provider. These reviews would be required to occur within 2 business days, or if an enrollee or insured faces an imminent and serious threat to their health, within a timely fashion appropriate for the nature of the enrollee’s or insured’s condition, as specified.

AB 1400 (Soria D) Community colleges: Baccalaureate Degree in Nursing Pilot Program: This bill would require the office of the Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to develop a Baccalaureate Degree in Nursing Pilot Program that authorizes select community college districts to offer a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree and would limit the pilot program to 15 community college districts statewide. The bill will require the chancellor’s office to identify and select eligible community college districts based on specified criteria. CAHSAH supports this bill.

AB 1495 (Valencia D) Home health aides: training and certification: This bill would require a certified home health aide, seeking to renew their unexpired certificate, to submit evidence of completing at least 12 hours of in-service training during each 12-month period of the certification. This bill would enable the certified home health aide to complete training courses on-line provided that either a registered nurse or a licensed vocational nurse, as specified, provide the classroom or supervised practical training required for qualification as a certified home health aide. The bill would require an online or distance learning training program for home health aide certification or in-service training for certified home health aides to include specific requirements, including, among others, requiring a trainee to sign an affidavit attesting under penalty of perjury to confirm their identity while completing the program. CAHSAH supports this bill.

SB 412 (Limón D) Home care aides: This bill would require a home care organization to ensure that a home care aide completes, prior to providing home care and annually thereafter, training related to the special care needs of clients with dementia. Additionally, the bill requires an unaffiliated home care aide to submit, as a condition of the registration renewal, a signed affidavit that the home care aide attended or viewed an online training video on caring for individuals with dementia. CAHSAH supports this bill.

State Budget Request – Private Duty Medi-Cal Home Health Rate Increase: While CAHSAH was successful last year in achieving a $62 million increase through the state budget process, the voters passed Proposition 35 which negated the funding for a private duty nursing rate increase.  We will be seeking funding earmarked in the state’s budget for a rate increase. 

REGISTER:  

Email CAHSAH’s Legislative Specialist Mary Adorno at madorno@cahsah.org. Simply put in the email’s subject line “Yes I will Participate in CAHSAH’s Lobby Day Event or call Mary at (916) 524-4850.

We look forward to your participation in this important advocacy event!