This week we welcome home care industry legends Dave Totaro and Bill Dombi for an in-depth look at the evolution of home care and advocacy. Our guests discuss the early days of direct lobbying and how advocacy has transformed into a sophisticated grassroots movement. Dave and Bill share their personal stories, professional insights, and their vision for the future of the industry.

In this episode:

The Changing Face of Advocacy: How advocacy has evolved from a few individuals walking the halls of power to a multi-faceted grassroots movement.

Legislative and Regulatory Challenges: Bill breaks down the biggest upcoming impacts, including Medicare home health payment rate issues, hospice program reforms, and the critical need for 50-state advocacy.

The Power of the Personal Story: Dave emphasizes why a single home visit or a constituent’s personal story can be more influential to a legislator than any amount of data or statistics.

Innovation and Technology: How telehealth, hospital-at-home models, and even AI are serving as tools to improve quality and efficiency, while stressing that they can never replace the human element of care.

Barriers to Access: A look at the persistent challenges of workforce shortages, competitive wages, and the need for better home retrofitting policies to support aging in place.

The Global Movement: Bill shares his experience with international interest in the US home care model, highlighting a worldwide shift toward prioritizing care in the home.

Dave and Bill remind listeners that advocacy is a 24/7, 365-day effort. Whether you’re a provider, a caregiver, or a consumer, your voice matters. H4HC helps us to humanize our messages, keep our asks simple, and we never stop educating our policymakers. Learn more and become an advocate for free at heartsforhomecare.com

produced by: slanted.design