by Kristin Rowan, Editor
Biden's Final Acts
With only a short number of days left in office, President Joe Biden has been making headlines. Not all of his final decisions have been met with absolute approval, but his latest one will make a difference for our veterans wanting Care at Home. On Thursday, January 3, 2025, President Biden signed into law the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act.
The Dole Act
The Elizabeth Dole Act improves upon much of the benefits, programs, and services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Some of these changes include providing protections for care agreements between veterans and clinicians, modifications to educational assistance programs and benefits, expansion of the Native American Direct Loan program, increases per diem rates for veteran transitional housing, and various administrative and oversight tasks.
Elizabeth Dole Home Care Act
The Elizabeth Dole Home Care Act is a bill within the larger act specific to home- and community-based services (HCBS). The home care act aims to enhance veterans’ access to the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) nationwide. The new law also allows the VA to increase funding for HCBS. Prior to this, the VA was able to allocate 65% of nursing home care to home care services.
Additionally, the home care bill will provide support and benefits to caregivers of some disabled veterans, start a pilot to provide non-medical supportive care at home to veterans with limited access to home health aides, and increase access to HCBS for Native American Veterans.
The Industry Responds
The National Alliance for Care at Home responded to the landmark legislation, specifically siting section 301 of the bill, known as Gerald’s Law. Gerald’s is so named for a Michigan veteran who was denied his non-service related burial and plot benefit after he died at home while under VA hospice care. Gerald’s Law requires the VA to provide a burial and funeral allowance for veterans who were receiving VA hospice care in a home or other setting outside a hospital or nursing home.
“We are deeply grateful for the bipartisan support of Gerald’s Law and its inclusion in the Dole Act. This legislation ensures that Veterans and their families can choose hospice care in the setting that best meets their needs without risking the loss of crucial burial benefits. We thank Senators Moran, Tester, and Hassan, Representatives Ciscomani, Bost, Brownley, and Takano, and many others for their leadership, as well as President Biden for signing this important bill into law.”
HCAOA, Leading Age, National PACE Association (NPA), and many others joined the Alliance in applauding Biden for signing the bill into law. They noted that providing care at home and in the community improves the quality of life for veterans and their caregivers. HCBS also come at a much lower cost than hospital and institutional care.
HCAOA said in a statement that the bill is “…a crucial victory for both veterans and their caregivers.” The President and CEO of NPA said the bill would dramatically increase options for veterans who want to age in place and that Congress can “…easily implement PACE for hundreds of thousands of additional seniors and their families.”
The VA has found that HCBS can delay or remove the need for nursing home or assisted living admission. Care at Home also reduces the risk of preventable rehospitalizations.
Final Thoughts
Once again, it seems the world is “discovering” that which we have known for ages: Home based care is better, cheaper, and more effective than institutional care. In the last few years, doctors and hospitals have figured this out and implemented hospital at home care. Now, the VA has finally figured it out as well. When this law takes effect, we as an industry will breathe a collective sigh when our veterans see better outcomes, their caregivers are better supported, the cost for their care decreases, and especially when our veterans enjoy a better quality of life in their final days without sacrificing the benefits to which they are so richly entitled.
One small step for veterans, one giant leap for Care at Home.
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Kristin Rowan has been working at The Rowan Report since 2008. She is the owner and Editor-in-chief of The Rowan Report, the industry’s most trusted source for care at home news .She also has a master’s degree in business administration and marketing and runs Girard Marketing Group, a multi-faceted boutique marketing firm specializing in content creation, social media management, and event marketing. Connect with Kristin directly kristin@girardmarketinggroup.com or www.girardmarketinggroup.com
©2025 by The Rowan Report, Peoria, AZ. All rights reserved. This article originally appeared in The Rowan Report. One copy may be printed for personal use: further reproduction by permission only. editor@therowanreport.com
