“The House of Representatives Veterans Affairs committee held a hearing on September 11 on H.R. 1527, the Long-Term Care Veterans Choice Act, a bill to expand access to homecare for veterans and help keep them out of institutional settings.”
“The legislation, introduced by Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA), would expand access to the Medical Foster Home (MFH) program within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA) MFH program provides a non-institutional long-term care alternative for eligible veterans, keeping them out of nursing homes, if that is their preference. Currently, the VA provides care team support to MFHs, but does not have the authority to pay for the cost of the MFHs. As a result, veterans must use personal or other funding sources to stay out of nursing homes. This legislation would authorize VA, during a three-year period, to place into MFHs that meet VA standards up to 900 veterans for whom VA is currently required to provide nursing home care.”
“A veteran that elects for a MFH setting would agree to accept home health services as provided by the VA. For purposes of this legislation, the bill defines a medical foster home as ‘a home designed to provide non-institutional long-term, supportive care for veterans who are unable to live independently and prefer a family setting…’” Read the full article here.
Source: Legislation Introduced to Keep Veterans at Home – September 23, 2019. HomeCare.
