| Rule Number: |
25P021 |
| Title: |
Rules for the Designation and Operation of Home Health Agencies. |
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Type:
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Standard |
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Status:
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Adopted |
| Agency: |
Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living; Agency of Human Services
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| Legal Authority: |
33 V.S.A. § 6303, and 3 V.S.A. § 801(b)(11) |
| Summary:
| It is not uncommon for designated home health agencies, despite their best efforts to recruit and retain staff, to lack the necessary staffing to provide designated services, as currently defined, to all individuals who are referred. The severe workforce shortage of personal care attendants prevents home health agencies from complying with the requirement to serve all individuals on Choices for Care who are referred for services. As a result, most agencies are operating under a variance to this requirement. The proposed rule would remove Choices for Care services, including personal care, respite, companionship, and homemaker services, which are not "home health services," from the Rule's definition of "designated services," to ensure that agencies are not held responsible for providing services that they frequently lack staffing to provide, while allowing them to continue to provide these services when they do have sufficient staff. The proposed rule makes other technical changes for clarity. |
| Persons Affected:
| Department of Disabilities, Aging, and Independent Living; Home Health Agencies; Area Agencies on Aging; Vermont Legal Aid, including the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program; Home Health patients; and Choices for Care participants. |
| Economic Impact:
| This rule change is expected to have minimal economic impact. As a result of this change, home health agencies will no longer be out of compliance with these Rules if they are unable to provide personal care, respite, companionship, and homemaker services to those enrolled in Choices for Care. Home health agencies will continue to provide these services as they are able, as they do now. The rule change will also enable home health agencies to focus their resources on the delivery of designated services and will create an opportunity to expand the number of providers authorized to deliver these non-medical Choices for Care services to beneficiaries throughout the state. |
| Posting date: |
Jun 18,2025 |
| Information for Contact # 1 |
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Level:
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Primary
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| Name: |
Pamela Cota |
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Agency:
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Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living; Agency of Human Services
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| Address: |
HC 2 South, 280 State Drive |
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| City: |
Waterbury |
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| State: |
VT |
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| Zip: |
05671-2060 |
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| Telephone: |
802-241-0347 |
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| Fax: |
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Email: |
pamela.cota@vermont.gov
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| Website Address: |
https://dlp.vermont.gov/survey-cert/facility-regs
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| Information for Contact # 2 |
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Level:
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Secondary
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| Name: |
Stuart Schurr |
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Agency:
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Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living; Agency of Human Services
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| Address: |
HC 2 South, 280 State Drive, |
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| City: |
Waterbury |
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| State: |
VT |
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| Zip: |
05671 |
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| Telephone: |
802-238-3754 |
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| Fax: |
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Email: |
stuart.schurr@vermont.gov
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