August 18, 2021 – WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced that his administration will require that nursing home staff be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition for those facilities to continue receiving federal Medicare and Medicaid funding. Biden unveiled the new policy Wednesday afternoon in a White House address as the administration […]
Category: News
An Act relative to expanding the availability of personal care homes for older adults “Personal care home” or “home”, a premise in which food, shelter and personal assistance or supervision are provided for a period exceeding 24 hours, for no more than six adults who are not relatives of the sponsor, who do not require […]
Special Report from the Center for Medicare Advocacy – July 2021. Download the full report: Special-Report-SNF-Subsidies.pdf Nursing Home Industry is Heavily Taxpayer-Subsidized It is well-known that Government health care programs, Medicare and Medicaid, are the primary payers for nursing home care. The two federal programs paid facilities tens of billions of dollars for providing care […]
Download Jim Lomastro’s testimony (docx): Elder Affairs S406 Small Homes DAM. Good morning. Thank you for the opportunity to speak about Senate Bill 406, “An Act Relative to Small House Nursing Homes.” My name is Jim Lomastro, and I am a member of Dignity Alliance Massachusetts. This bill is a strong start toward the transformation […]
June 30, 2021 Download the pdf: Testimony on S413 and H733 An Act to Improve Employee Standards for MA Nursing Homes Senator Patricia Jehlen, Chair Joint Committee on Elder Affairs, Delivered by email: Patricia.Jehlen@masenate.gov Representative Thomas M. Stanley, Chair Joint Committee on Elder Affairs, Delivered by email: Thomas.Stanley@mahouse.gov Dignity Alliance Massachusetts (Dignity Alliance) is providing […]
June 30, 2021 Download the pdf: Testimony on S414 and H727 An Act to Ensure Quality of Care in Nursing Homes Senator Patricia Jehlen, Chair Joint Committee on Elder Affairs, Delivered by email: Patricia.Jehlen@masenate.gov Representative Thomas M. Stanley, Chair Joint Committee on Elder Affairs, Delivered by email: Thomas.Stanley@mahouse.gov Dear Chair Jehlen and Chair Stanley:Dignity Alliance […]
Dignity Alliance Massachusetts’ Response to the Request for Information American Rescue Plan Act Home and Community-Based Community HCBS Initiatives May 2021 (See Glossary for description of abbreviations) Download the DA American Rescue Plan RFI.docx Access to Services and Supports and Community Integration Amendments to the Frail Elder Waiver to Support New Services Add Residential Services […]
Dear Senators, Dignity Alliance Massachusetts supports the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home bond bill S. 2439 as well as adoption of Amendment 13 proposed by Senator Lovely and Amendment 16 proposed by Senator Collins. These amendments ensure that the construction of a replacement facility on the campus of the current Holyoke Soldiers’ Home adheres to the US […]
Read two articles from the Boston Globe. The first is by the Globe Editorial Board, Holyoke veterans deserve more than a new building, from April 8. The second is the published letter (April 14) in response, In pushing old-style approach for a new soldiers’ home, Mass. abandons key blueprint for care, from Paul Lanzikos. Both […]
Honor Our Aging Veterans, but let Holyoke’s Soldiers Home Fade Away. Honor Our Aging Veterans, but let Holyoke’s Soldiers Home Fade Away. By Richard T. Moore In his famous address to the United States Congress on April 19, 1951, exactly seventy years ago, General Douglas MacArthur ended his valiant military career with the words of […]