Earlier today, the U.S. Department of Labor finalized a rule that dramatically expands overtime eligibility for millions of salaried workers. The release of the rule comes a day after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released final rules that would impose new requirements on Medicaid Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) providers and establish federal staffing requirements on long-term care facilities.

Argentum will be covering the impact of the rules on assisted living communities during tomorrow's Argentum Advocates member briefing. The session will also share updates on on new long-term care workforce legislation and the forthcoming “Health Over Wealth Act,” calling for greater transparency and accountability for private equity in health care, including assisted living.

Argentum Advocates Member Briefing
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
2:00 PM ET

Read more for a detailed summary of the new rules:

Argentum hosted an in-person briefing yesterday on Capitol Hill in partnership with the House 21st Century Long-Term Care Caucus on policy considerations for reauthorization of the Older Americans Act (OAA), which is due to expire in September.

The briefing offered an opportunity to educate legislative staff on the assisted living care model and how it differs from other long-term settings, to promote our recent report, The Value of Assisted Living in America, and to share our legislative priorities, including the SENIOR Act and the Care Across Generations Act, both of which have provisions that may be incorporated into reauthorization of the OAA.

The Senate Aging Committee held a hearing this morning, "The Long-Term Care Workforce: Addressing Shortages and Improving the Profession." The hearing focused on workforce issues across long-term care settings and served as a platform for Committee Chairman Bob Casey (D-PA) to promote S. 4120, the “Long-Term Care Workforce Support Act,” which he introduced yesterday with Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI).

U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) recently visited Truewood by Merrill, First Hill, a Merrill Gardens community in Seattle, Washington.

Lawmakers from coast to coast are gaining a fresh perspective on the value of senior living by visiting communities. We need your help so that more lawmakers, at both the federal and state level, can tour our communities, meet with residents and staff, and better understand our policy issues and our proposed solutions.

We encourage all senior living communities to host visits. To get started, please review this a toolkit which includes sample invitations, a sample itinerary, best practices for preparing for your visit, and more.

DOWNLOAD THE TOOLKIT

Calling all Argentum Advocates: Next week's member-exclusive policy briefing will share key insights from the recent Public Policy Institute (PPI) and how we can continue the momentum from the event over the coming weeks.

Argentum's PPI is the industry's largest advocacy event, and this year 130 advocates from 35 states made their voices heard in our largest event to-date, holding 151 meetings with Congressional offices. In addition to telling the story of assisted living and reframing the narrative through the the “I ❤ Assisted Living" campaign, advocates helped to promote the SENIOR Act (H.R. 7605), the Care Across Generations Act (H.R. 6835), and the veterans assisted living pilot program (H.R. 1815, S. 495).

This month's session will share updates on our legislative priorities (including details on the brand new SENIOR Act), recent regulatory changes impacting providers, and how senior living advocates can continue the conversations from Capitol Hill to build on the momentum of PPI.

Argentum Advocates Member Briefing
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
2:00 PM ET

Senior living advocates from 35 states came together last week for Argentum's Public Policy Institute, where they held 151 meetings with Congressional offices.

Advocates sought support for the SENIOR Act (H.R. 7605), which was introduced just prior to the event by Representatives Lori Trahan (D-MA) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and 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.

Advocates also promoted the Care Across Generations Act (H.R. 6835) to foster intergenerational connections by co-locating childcare and senior living communities, and the veterans assisted living pilot program legislation (H.R. 1815, S. 495) to finally give veterans a choice in their long-term care.

The event included remarks from Representatives Lori Trahan, Marilyn Strickland, Annie Kuster, Debbie Dingell, and Susan Wild, and several leading female members of Congress joined the Women in Leadership (WIL) event including Reps. Claudia Tenney, Nicole Malliotakis, and Suzanne Bonamici.

Argentum released an updated edition of The Value of Assisted Living in America. The industry-leading report provides a comprehensive review of the benefits of assisted living in high resident satisfaction rates, improving quality of life, and saving Medicare and Medicaid funding along with increased workforce productivity.

Among the reports findings include:

Argentum launched a new “Standing with Seniors” website last week, designed to empower seniors, families, caregivers, policymakers, and industry stakeholders with accessible and actionable information to support informed decision-making, and policies to improve the lives of seniors.

The resource hub provides key data points available on a national, state, and Congressional-district level, including the number of communities, residents in assisted living, independent living, and memory care, the Medicare spending comparison between assisted living and skilled nursing, current and projected population over age 65, and more!

Additional resources available on Standing With Seniors include:

Earlier this week, Genworth Financial released its annual Cost of Care Survey, one of the most comprehensive studies of its kind, which found that assisted living remains the most cost-effective form of senior care.

Argentum's Public Policy Institute (PPI) is underway with more than 100 advocates joining together in Washington, D.C. this week to help tell the story of senior living.

Yesterday, U.S. Representatives Lori Trahan (D-MA-3) led a keynote address to promote the SENIOR Act, legislation she just introduced to increase access and affordability of assisted living and address the industry's workforce needs, which will demand more than 20 million workers across long-term care by 2040.

U.S. Representative Lori Trahan (D-MA), a lead sponsor of the SENIOR Act, speaking yesterday at Argentum's Public Policy Institute on the importance of the legislation.

Attendees are preparing to head to Capitol Hill to get their voices heard on the SENIOR Act, the Care Across Generations Act (to foster intergenerational connections by co-locating childcare and senior living communities), and the veterans assisted living pilot program legislation (to finally give veterans a choice in their long-term care).

We are calling on all Argentum Advocates to join us in our day of action by sending pre-written letters to Congress in support of these bills! All you have to do is click the buttons below, add your contact information, and click "Send message." That's it! The more messages that lawmakers receive, the more likely they are to review the legislation and cosponsor it. And with more than 100 senior living advocates on Capitol Hill this week, your messages have an outsized impact in spreading the word on the importance of our priority bills.

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