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Representatives Debbie Dingell (MI-06) and Sean Casten (IL-06) this week led nine colleagues in a letter urging Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Brooks-LaSure to implement quality standards of care and protections from abuse and neglect for older Americans and people with disabilities. 
 
“We recognize that CMS has taken significant steps toward protecting the care Medicaid beneficiaries receive, and we encourage the Center to go further by implementing the Access Rule provisions that prioritize patient care,” the lawmakers wrote. “CMS's work to combat abuse, neglect, and fraud is critical. Our shared responsibility is to ensure that the standard of care offered to seniors and disabled Americans is unparalleled. We look forward to your partnership in ongoing work to support Medicaid PCS patients and high-quality providers.”
 
Personal care services (PCS) is a Medicaid benefit to support older Americans and people with disabilities who live independently at home. Despite the high-quality, life-enhancing care many beneficiaries receive, CMS has been aware of concerns about abuse and neglect of beneficiaries by some PCS providers for many years. 
 
Last month, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services finalized the Ensuring Access to Medicaid Services rule, to establish more robust quality controls for Personal Care Services. The implementation of quality-focused components of this rule to strengthen person-centered service planning and care management is essential to supporting the safety, dignity, and self-determination of Medicaid beneficiaries who receive Personal Care Services.
 
In addition to Reps. Dingell and Casten, the letter was signed by Reps. Eleanor Holmes Norton, Jamaal Bowman, Donald Davis, Pramila Jayapal, Barbara Lee, Jan Schakowsky, Marilyn Strickland, Jonathan Jackson, and Raúl Grijalva. 
 
A copy of the letter can be found here.