The South Florida Sun Sentinel published an op-ed on Sunday, April 13 by Gail Matillo, president and CEO of the Florida Senior Living Association, on the epidemic of loneliness among seniors and the importance of socialization.

This morning, the House voted 216-214 to pass H.Con.Res.14. With the Senate's passage of the bill on Saturday by a vote of 51-48, the two chambers may now formally begin the budget reconciliation process to advance major parts of the Trump Administration agenda, with a goal to complete the process before June.

The resolution provides instructions for Congressional committees to advance portions of the package, which includes a permanent renewal of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act along with immigration and border security, energy and defense policies. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) agreed to seek at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts to safety-net programs in the final package, along with a minimum of $4 billion in savings identified by committees that handle agriculture, nutrition and housing, energy, health, education, and labor policy.

Argentum sent a letter this week to Acting Social Security Administration (SSA) Commissioner Leland Dudek about recent changes that could impact the ability of seniors residing in senior living communities to receive their Social Security benefits.

Starting next Monday, April 14, the SSA will implement updated identity verification procedures intended to enhance security and combat fraud. The SSA will require individuals to prove their identity if applying for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Medicare, or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or changing direct deposit information for existing benefits.

A federal judge, Matthew J. Kacsmaryk, ruled yesterday to strike down the nursing home minimum staffing rule, arguing that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) lacked the authority to impose such staffing requirements and violated Congressional intent. The case was dismissed with prejudice and the federal government may appeal the decision.

The rule, Minimum Staffing Standards for Long-Term Care Facilities and Medicaid Institutional Payment Transparency Reporting, was finalized by the Biden Administration in April 2023 and established federal staffing requirements for Medicare and Medicaid-certified SNFs of 3.48 hours of daily direct care per patient/resident. While it would not directly impact senior living communities, Argentum was concerned with potential unintended impacts of the rule, as long-term care communities would be forced to compete for a finite pool of workers. In joint comments we submitted with a coalition, we advised CMS to instead focus on efforts to strengthen the long-term care workforces through policies to assist in training, recruiting and retaining staff.

Argentum’s SVP of Public Policy, Maggie Elehwany, and VP of Government Relations, Paul Williams, recently joined McKnight's Senior Living's Newsmakers Podcast to discuss key advocacy efforts for the 119th Congress and updates to Argentum’s public policy paper on the Value of Assisted Living in America.

They shared insights on navigating the shifting federal landscape and highlighted opportunities to champion the role of senior living—especially in supporting those with dementia and Alzheimer’s while reducing costs on the healthcare system.

Senior living advocates from 30 states came together this past week for Argentum's Public Policy Institute, where they held more than 100 meetings with Congressional offices to advance pro-active legislation that will make senior living communities thrive.

On Wednesday, Argentum President and CEO James Balda testified before the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging for a hearing, "Breaking the Cycle of Senior Loneliness: Strengthening Family and Community Support." Argentum's testimony focused on the critical role of senior living communities in promoting socialization and combatting isolation among seniors (watch our testimony, the full hearing or view clips of our response on social determinants of health, long-term care insurance, and strategies to combat loneliness).

Argentum President and CEO James Balda testified before the Senate Aging Committee. Public Policy Institute attendees were able to join in-person or watch a live-stream session at our event.

Advocates sought support for the Caring for Seniors Act, which Representative Lori Trahan (D-MA) announced she would be introducing with Representative Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA). The Argentum-supported legislation includes a cost-reduction program for low-income seniors to afford assisted living as well as expansion of workforce programs to meet the growing need for caregivers.

U.S. Representative Lori Trahan (D-MA) announced plans to introduce the Caring for Seniors Act with Representative Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA).

Advocates also promoted the the Care Across Generations Act (H.R. 1812), the Social Engagement and Network Initiatives for Older Relief (SENIOR) Act (S. 473), the Credit for Caring Act (H.R. 2036 and S. 925), tax-reforms to include the use of flexible funding to pay for long-term care needs such as refundable tax credits and existing savings accounts, and encouraging additional flexibility for veterans care choices.

The Senate Aging Committee is holding a hearing at 3:30 p.m. this afternoon, "Breaking the Cycle of Senior Loneliness: Strengthening Family and Community Support." Argentum President and CEO James Balda will testify on the critical role of senior living communities in promoting socialization and combatting isolation among seniors.

Ahead of the hearing, U.S. News & World Report released a report on showing that moving into a senior living community can improve a person's social isolation and loneliness. The report found that 61% say their feelings of loneliness or isolation improved after moving into a senior living community, and 85% of seniors have made friends since moving into a senior living community.

Argentum released an updated edition of The Value of Assisted Living in America. The industry-leading report makes clear the critical role that assisted living plays in caring our nation’s seniors, in offering significantly lower costs, improved quality of life, better health outcomes, and reduced health care costs for public programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and veterans’ care.

The report includes a host of findings and offers several policy solutions, including:

• Improve access to assisted living for veterans. Current Veteran benefit programs created to assist veteran populations are under-utilized and in need of reform. If the Aid and Attendance benefit is effectively utilized, veterans could receive the care they need in the setting of their choice instead of having no choice but to go into the Medicaid program.
• Increase access and affordability and expand workforce training programs. Federal legislation would establish a cost-reduction program for lower-income seniors and workforce training programs to offer specializations in senior care to meet the needs of older adults.
• Promote socialization and support our caregiver’s family care needs. The Social Engagement and Network Initiatives for Older Relief (SENIOR) Act and the Care Across Generations Act would help seniors stay more connected and offer caregivers with children of childcare age on-site placement, as many workers report difficulties with finding reliable childcare.
• Promote tax reforms to invest in workforce development. The  Improve and Enhance the Work Opportunity Tax Credit Act would help more long-term care communities hire caregivers.
• Support Foreign-born Workforce Programs. Increasing immigrant flows into the US may be one actionable policy solution to ensure there is an adequate workforce to ensure the rapidly aging population has access to quality long-term care.
• Strengthen Long-Term Care Insurance. Several measures have been proposed to improve the viability of private long-term care insurance.
• Increase Public Program Reimbursements. Inadequate reimbursements have limited the ability for assisted living communities to participate.

Among the reports findings include:

Argentum's Public Policy Institute (PPI) kicks off tomorrow, where more than 100 senior living advocates are joining us in Washington, D.C. to to help tell the story of senior living.

This year's event comes with a critical need for advocacy on issues impacting senior living providers, with sweeping reforms coming to Medicare and Medicaid, immigration policies leading to tighter labor markets for our workforce, and the newly enacted traffics and other economic uncertainty disrupting critical development and investment.

And with new attention on increasing government efficiency, there is significant opportunity to promote assisted living, as the most cost-effective long-term care setting, for policymakers to support in helping more seniors choose our communities for their care needs.

This week, U.S. Representatives Marilyn Strickland (D-WA) and Bryan Steil (R-WI) introduced H.R. 1812, the Care Across Generations Act. This legislation would provide grants for long-term care communities to establish on-site childcare centers or to partner with nearby childcare centers to promote intergenerational connection between seniors and children. These settings provide health and well-being benefits, address the epidemic of loneliness, and also provide on-site childcare opportunities for senior living workers with childcare needs.

The legislation is a reintroduction of H.R. 6835 introduced in 2023, of which Argentum worked directly with the Congressional offices to draft the legislative language.