President Joe Biden signed into law H.R. 10545, the American Relief Act on Saturday, hours after the Senate voted 85-11 and the House voted 366-34 to pass the legislation. The package funds the government through March 14, 2025 and includes $100 billion in disaster relief for areas impacted by natural disasters, of which Argentum advocated for senior living communities to be eligible for assistance.
The package is a pared-down version of a bipartisan agreement (H.R. 10455) that was negotiated over several weeks, but was ultimately withdrawn last Thursday amid public pressure by President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk, who was tasked by Trump to co-lead a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Trump instead pushed for a different version (H.R. 10515) that the House quickly voted down 174-235.
The package that was signed into law includes short-term extensions of two key health care programs: Medicare hospital-at-home and telehealth flexibilities, which were both due to expire at the end of the year, but will now extend through March 31, 2025. This is a significantly shorter extension than was in the original package that would have extended telehealth flexibilities for two years and hospital-at-home for five years.
Current telehealth flexibilities were put in place during the pandemic for geography, site of service, and practitioner type; without flexibilities, Medicare beneficiaries would need to be in a rural area and a medical facility to receive non-behavioral health services via Medicare telehealth. These flexibilities were last renewed in 2022 as part of a broad omnibus spending package.
The package that was signed into law over the weekend also does not include reauthorization of the Older Americans Act (OAA), which was part of the originally-negotiated package. That version would have included language based on the Argentum-supported Care Across Generations Act to support multigenerational care models. Argentum will be working closely with lawmakers in the New Year to incorporate this language into the overdue reauthorization of the OAA.
The short-term nature of this latest continuing resolution, and the fact that it does not include an extension of the debt ceiling, ensures that lawmakers will need to regroup in early 2025 to continue debate on numerous legislative issues related to the budget and items that were included in the original negotiated package but subsequently removed for the version that was passed and signed into law. Notably, both Donald Trump and House Democrats have floated the idea of permanently removing the debt ceiling by allowing the Treasury Department to continue paying down the federal debt unless a veto-proof majority of Congress prevents them.
The next year will also include considerable attention on renewal of expiring provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which Congress may attempt to pass through the budget reconciliation process that only requires a simple majority of both the House and the Senate. The House will have a narrow 220-215 Republican majority and the Senate will have a narrow 53-47 Republican majority, potentially allowing Republicans to craft legislation without Democratic support. Argentum is already working with leading lawmakers to incorporate our public policy priorities into any potential reconciliation package to expand access of assisted living and also to promote workforce solutions for long-term care settings.
The timing of the next budget deadline and the debate over a new comprehensive tax package makes the Argentum Public Policy Institute all the more important, as it will be held March 12-13, during the first 100 days of the presidential term and while lawmakers are still crafting legislation. All senior living advocates are encouraged to attend the event and join us for our lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill.
Typically this event includes C-Suite officers, senior corporate legal, regulatory, and compliance staff, community level executive directors, and others who offer a valuable perspective on the needs facing senior living communities and the policies that can best help our industry. Importantly, no experience is necessary! All attendees will receive adequate preparation and guidance.
Argentum owner/operator members are eligible for a special registration rate of $499 (a $100 savings off the regular rate), which goes directly toward supporting our advocacy efforts. Industry Partners will be invited to join us through a sponsorship program.
Hurry, the early bird registration rate ends on January 8, 2025!