We are pleased to share that yesterday Senators Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and Susan Collins (R-ME) sent their sign-on letter to HHS Secretary Becerra, requesting an equitable allocation of the estimated $23 billion in unspent provider relief funds be made to senior living providers. The letter came at Argentum's request and follows a continuous advocacy push on Capitol Hill that allowed us to garner the support of 25 Senators (a quarter of the chamber).
The Senate letter will be followed with a companion letter that is currently circulating in the House of Representatives and due to close tomorrow. That letter is led by Representatives Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) and Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH) and already has the support of 35 members of Congress.
Argentum has been leading advocacy efforts to prioritize immediate relief to senior living providers. There has been insufficient relief to offset the more than $15 billion incurred by providers, and the American Rescue Plan did not allocate any dedicated relief for senior living providers. Argentum had secured amendments, including by Senator Collins, that would have added dedicated funding to providers; however, these were not adopted into the final package. Argentum worked directly with Senators Sinema and Collins and Representatives Spanberger and Gonzalez to lead these letters to HHS on behalf of senior living providers.
Together, with the letter we sent to Secretary Becerra immediately following his Senate confirmation, these letters help to underscore our longstanding request for additional relief for senior living providers and will help as we work to secure a meeting with the secretary to make our request.
We thank you all for your continued outreach to your Senators and member of Congress asking for their support on these letters, especially those who personally reached out to lawmakers and staff. We will continue to keep you updated on our progress with HHS, HRSA, and more broadly the Biden Administration to secure additional relief.