Setting the Record Straight on the White House’s Nursing Home Reform Package
April 28, 2022
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.