As senior living providers and advocates continue calls to the federal government to release Provider Relief Funds, two senators are circulating a letter in search of signatures, to try to add pressure to the Department of Health and Human Services to distribute funds.
Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) began passing around the document to colleagues last week. The sign-on letter notes that the funding distribution process has been “uneven” and that shifting guidance, technical programs and the absence of a formal appeals process have “plagued” the program.
Last month, the Government Accountability Office reported that about 25% of Provider Relief Funds, and all of the rural provider funding, remained “unobligated” and that the most current spend plans don’t include timeframes for obligating the remaining funds. The GAO called on HHS to provide a projected timeframe for distributions.
To date, assisted living providers have received approximately $1 billion of the $178 billion Provider Relief Fund, and nursing home providers have received $13 billion.
“As the healthcare provider community continues to respond to the challenge posed by the pandemic, this funding should be released without any further delay,” the senators’ letter reads, noting that “[h]ospitals, nursing homes, assisted living providers, health clinics, and other healthcare providers need these funds to help weather the financial difficulties created by the pandemic.”
Argentum recently launched a “Release the PRF” campaign that includes direct outreach, grassroots engagement and social media posts to encourage the Biden administration to release remaining provider relief funds.
The American Health Care Association / National Center for Assisted Living, the American Seniors Housing Association, Argentum and LeadingAge sent a letter to the administration earlier this month asking for the immediate allocation of remaining Provider Relief Funds to senior living communities and nursing homes.
State plea
At the state level, the Utah Assisted Living Association took an appeal for relief funding for the industry to Gov. Spencer Cox (R), requesting $253 million. Leaders said that senior living providers have paid for personal protective equipment, “hero pay,” additional staff members, and cleaning and sanitizing services. They also lost revenue due to occupancy lows during the pandemic.
The UALA, which is a state partner of Argentum, called the losses “long-term, compounding and unsustainable.”
The Provider Relief Fund only allocated 1% of Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding to senior living — about $1 billion nationwide — compared with $12.5 billion for skilled nursing facilities, the association told the governor.
The UALA is asking that the state allocate some of its $2.5 billion in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to help sustain the senior living industry.
In other COVID-19-related news:
- Omaha-based Immanuel Senior Living, with 16 communities across Nebraska and Iowa, is requiring all employees to show proof of a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by Oct. 1 and be fully vaccinated by Nov. 1. “We did not come to this decision lightly nor without much thought. We respect the rights of our employees to choose, but the people we serve have entrusted us to protect them,” Immanuel Medical Director Devin Fox, M.D., MBA, said in a statement.
- Frederick, MD-based Asbury Communities, which has eight continuing care retirement communities in three states, has issued a vaccine requirement for all staff due to the “disproportionate risks of the COVID pandemic.” Staff members in Tennessee and Maryland must be fully vaccinated by Sept. 30, whereas Pennsylvania staff must be vaccinated by Oct. 30.
- Allentown, PA-based Phoebe Ministries, with four CCRCs and eight affordable housing locations in Pennsylvania, also has announced a vaccine mandate, effective Oct. 15. Staff members have easy access through Phoebe Pharmacy, the company’s pharmaceutical provider. “As a healthcare provider, we are duty-bound to protect the vulnerable population we serve,” Phoebe Ministries President and CEO Scott Stevenson said, adding that “it is clear that community-wide immunization is a crucial next step to overcoming this pandemic.”
- Baltimore-based Brightview Senior Living has a vaccine mandate for employees, with a deadline of Oct. 1. The organization has almost 4,600 employees.
- Homestead Assisted Living in Houma, LA,, gave residents and employees an Aug. 20 deadline to get vaccinated or said they no longer would be able to enter the facility.
- The Philadelphia Board of Health is giving long-term care and other healthcare workers in the city until Oct. 15 to get vaccinated or they will be required to wear a mask and undergo a PCR or antigen test twice a week.
- In San Francisco, healthcare workers, including assisted living workers and others in high-risk settings, must be vaccinated by Oct. 13.
- Merrimack County, NH, officials are requiring all employees at county-run assisted living communities and skilled nursing facilities to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Oct. 1.
- Onondaga County, NY, has mandated mask-wearing in assisted living and independent living communities and in nursing homes as COVID-19 cases rise. All staff members also are required to undergo testing at least once a week. The order is in effect until Thursday and will be renewed formally in successive five-day orders.
