Late yesterday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced that providers will have a full year to repay Medicare loans received during COVID-19. The reason? CMS head Seema Verma says "we are not yet back to normal." Earlier this week, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that the third round of provider relief payments are available. Health care providers, including DMEPOS companies, can apply for the $20 billion in Phase 3, and this round extends to providers that opened in 2020. Find more here.

In other CMS news, the agency released a new memo clarifying details about exemptions from emergency preparation testing during COVID-19. The good news: most providers will only have to provide updates and training on their emergency programs every two years, and the requirements to contact state and local agencies are also lightened. Here's the memo.

When I mention aging in place, I doubt that Habitat for Humanity is the first thing that comes to mind. But the organization has made caring for seniors one of its new priorities, and already does home repairs and modifications with seniors in mind. Habitat's CEO hosted an interesting panel about keeping seniors safe during the pandemic. You can watch it here. 

See you on Monday!

Recruitment is always at the top of homecare’s list of challenges—even more so in the midst of a pandemic. How do you find great candidates, screen them, hire them, bring them on board and keep them engaged at your organization? This new e-book guides you through the four critical areas to focus on to make recruiting work and limit turnover. Sponsored by Relias.

Statistics show that 1 in 10 adults over age 60 suffers from elder abuse. In large part, this abuse is by home health care providers or another person the senior trusts. The most significant risk factor for abuse is the provider’s exclusive one-on-one exposure to the client, ranging from two to 24 hours a day. Because the senior may be isolated, others may not be there to recognize abuse or prevent it from happening or continuing. Sponsored by Philadelphia Insurance.