The American Health Care Association / National Center for Assisted Living, LeadingAge and 72 other national organizations in a June 28 letter urged Health & Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to begin “immediate and effective implementation” of the Recognize, Assist, Include, Support, and Engage (RAISE) Family Caregivers Act.
The RAISE Family Caregivers Act (H.R. 3759), unanimously passed in September 2017 and signed into law on Jan. 28, requires the secretary of Health & Human Services to develop, maintain and update a strategy to recognize and support family caregivers. The initial strategy must be established within 18 months and annual updates provided by the Family Caregiving Advisory Council. It is essential for the Family Caregiving Advisory Council to be established immediately in order to give timely advice to the secretary to inform the national strategy and to publish a report within the first year of the law’s enactment.
