Long-term care advocates received some encouragement from Thursday’s hearing of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee’s Primary Health and Retirement Security subcommittee. The hearing focused on workforce shortages in healthcare.
“These shortages have serious consequences,” said the subcommittee’s ranking member, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME).
“The situation is particularly acute in our nursing homes, where low Medicaid reimbursement levels often translate into low wages. … We need to break that cycle at a time where our nation is aging and more and more people are living longer with increasing health needs,” the senator said.
“We thank Sen. Collins for bringing attention to the particular shortage of workers within the nursing home sector and how low Medicaid reimbursement rates hamper our ability to compete for medical professionals and caregivers,” Mark Parkinson, president and CEO of the American Health Care Association / National Center for Assisted Living, told his organizations’ Provider publication. “We are also encouraged that members of the committee recognize the need for an increased focus on geriatric medicine, given the rapid growth of our elderly population.”
