Setting the Record Straight on the White House’s Nursing Home Reform Package

Mark Parkinson, President and CEO of The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) AHCA/NCAL, recently sent a letter to Congressional Leadership requesting additional resources for long-term care residents and staff. In it, he outlined the current state of the industry:

• The quality of nursing home care was increasing over the past decade, specifically thanks to initiatives where federal regulators and providers were working together.
• The rhetoric surrounding last week’s White House announcement was disappointing and demoralizing to an already beaten down health care sector.
• During the COVID pandemic, nursing homes were not prioritized by public health officials for resources and the lack of a coordinated, federal response enabled high spread in the general population that ultimately led to nursing home outbreaks.
• President Biden’s plan does not address the chronic underfunding of Medicaid or offer meaningful support to help nursing home providers meet increasing requirements. Until policymakers properly invest in long-term care, nursing homes will continue to struggle, and more facilities will have to close their doors – limiting access to care for potentially millions of elderly Americans.

Read the full story from McKnight’s here.