$1.9 Trillion Stimulus Plan May Not Go Far Enough For Senior Living, Leaders Say
President-elect Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus rescue plan, unveiled Thursday evening, includes an initiative to “protect vulnerable populations in congregate settings,” but it may not go far enough to meet the needs of senior living and care, according to some industry leaders. Still, however, they expressed appreciation that the incoming administration is taking COVID-19 seriously.
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American Health Care Association / National Center for Assisted Living President and CEO Mark Parkinson, however, said the plan “fails to properly support our healthcare heroes, who are neck high in responding to the pandemic.”
Parkinson said Biden’s comment three weeks ago that “things are going to get worse” is ringing true in assisted living communities and nursing homes, as “each week brings record new cases and deaths due to soaring community spread.” He also said that long-term care and other healthcare providers need immediate financial aid to respond to the surge and keep their doors open.
“We urge the new administration and Congress to add another $100 billion to the Provider Relief Fund, as was passed in the HEROES Act last year, and dedicate a substantial portion of this fund to long-term care,” Parkinson said. “Our providers are on the brink, with exhausted staff and hundreds of facilities threatening to close. We must rally around our healthcare heroes and seniors in long-term care.”
Read the full article from McKnight’s Senior Living.
