Companionship Services Exemption - Review Your Process

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posted by Ryan Whittington on February 13, 2012

In Missouri, among other states, home care workers provide care to clients who are either restricted to their home or have chosen to receive care at home.  When long hours are involved, one way many agencies provide this care is by utilizing the caregiver companionship services exemption. To learn what the companionship services exemption is, click here.

If your agency utilizes the Companionship Services Exemption as part of your business model, you will want to be sure your documentation verifying compliance is acceptable for regulatory review.

Below is an excerpt from Mary Schantz, Executive Director of the Missouri Alliance for Home Care.

Companionship Exemption:  Contact Your Member of Congress

 

Some in Congress and the U.S. Department of Labor are looking to modify or eliminate the longstanding definition and application of the companionship services exemption. It is anticipated that changes to the companionship services exemption would reduce the availability of care to the elderly and the infirm and increase the costs of service delivery with no corresponding increase from third party payers, such as Medicaid.  For private pay home care, the cost of overtime compensation would need to be passed on to the consumer or absorbed by the home care company

In response to these efforts, Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE) introduced H.R. 3066, the Companionship Exemption Protection Act, which would ensure the current definition of companionship services is maintained.  We encourage you to help gather support for this legislation by reaching out to your representative’s office and ask your representative to cosponsor the Companionship Exemption Protection Act.

To assist in your efforts, we developed an Action Alert item on the NAHC Legislative Action Network.  The Action Alert provides background materials on the companionship services exemption as well as a copy of the Dear Colleague letter Rep. Terry sent to his colleagues in the House of Representatives inviting them to cosponsor H.R.3066.  You may click here to send an email to your legislator in the House of Representatives.  You may also use this link (Contact Your Elected Officials) to locate contact information for your representative if you would prefer to call.

Eight members have already joined Terry as cosponsors: Reps. Scott DesJarlais (R-TN), Gregg Harper (R-MS), Jeffery Landry (R-LA), Alan Nunnelee (R-MS), Ron Paul (R-TX), Thomas Petri (R-WI), Adrian Smith (R-NE) and Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA).

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