Now that Sens. Warren and Markey and Rep. Maloney realize what the industry has been saying to anyone who would listen for months now — that senior living operators need resources to battle COVID-19, too — it’s time for them to convince their colleagues in the Senate and House of their discovery and then put their (our, actually) money where their mouths are.
Assisted living communities would be required to report confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 to federal, state and local health officials, as well as to residents and their families — and would have one day to do it — under legislation announced by two U.S. senators and one congresswoman. The report on which the bill is based, however, “falls short” and is “misleading,” according to one association representing operators.
Eighty-seven percent of assisted living communities and nursing homes participating in a new survey said it is taking two or more days for them to obtain the results of COVID-19 tests of staff members. The majority (63%) said that, on average, it takes two to four days to obtain test results.
Congress should take “immediate steps” to get needed personal protective equipment to assisted living communities, nursing homes, home- and community-based settings and other places where older adults receive care, Dana Marie Kennedy, state director for AARP Arizona, told members of the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee on Thursday. She was a hearing witness speaking on behalf of the national AARP organization.
As the senior living industry continues its battle COVID-19, industry leaders say they are thankful that a recent executive order from the president affecting immigration visas exempts healthcare workers involved in treating people with coronavirus.
Earlier this month, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that it would distribute approximately $15 billion in grants to eligible state Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program providers, including assisted living operators. Payments from the distribution will be determined using data that eligible providers enter into an enhanced Provider Relief Fund portal.
More than half of assisted living communities have less than a two-week supply of vital personal protective equipment, placing them at a “significant disadvantage” in protecting older adults and staff from COVID-19, according to a new survey.
Senior living organizations are applauding Monday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that existing federal law forbids job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation of transgender status.
Even before the industry was dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, the average nursing home was operating on a razor-thin profit margin or net loss. That’s because Medicaid reimbursements only cover 70% to 80% of care costs, according to a document released Wednesday by the American Health Care Association / National Center for Assisted Living.
The Department of Health and Human Services will distribute approximately $15 billion in grants to eligible state Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program providers, including assisted living operators, the federal agency announced Tuesday.
