This afternoon, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 389-9 to pass H.R. 8371, the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act. The Dole Act includes Argentum-supported legislation to expand access to assisted living for Veterans.
The bill was passed under suspension of the rules, allowing it to bypass the lengthier legislative process for quick consideration on the floor. It now heads to the Senate for consideration, where it must pass before the end of the year to avoid having to begin the process anew with the next Congress.
This legislation incorporates language from the Expanding Veterans’ Options for Long Term Care Act (H.R. 1815 and S. 495), legislation that Argentum has strongly supported to allow veterans to choose assisted living for their long-term care benefit, instead of nursing home care.
This summer, lawmakers combined this bill with numerous other bipartisan and bicameral bills into the comprehensive Dole Act, to reform and improve the delivery of healthcare, benefits, and services at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for veterans, their families, and their survivors. Under Subtitle B, Section 127 of the Dole Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is authorized to offer assisted living settings for aging and disabled veterans who would otherwise require more expensive nursing home care.
Argentum has been working with more than 50 organizations to pass this bill, and last week we specifically called on Congress to pass the bill on the suspension calendar. Today’s vote is a critical step to doing so, with limited time remaining before the end of the Congress when legislation will expire and need to begin the process anew next year. Critically, the lead Senate sponsor, Jon Tester (D-MT), was defeated for re-election and will not be in Congress to champion the bill next year if it is not enacted this session; the lead House sponsor, Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), was elected to the U.S. Senate, but will no longer be able to champion the issue in the House.
Earlier today, Argentum sent a grassroots action alert urging advocates to send a letter to their member of Congress to vote “Yes” on the Dole Act. We sincerely appreciate everyone who participated and helped raise awareness on this critically important bill to expand access to assisted living for veterans. It will not only help to demonstrate the value of assisted living to the VA, but will demonstrate the cost-effectiveness and high satisfaction of assisted living as Argentum seeks to increase access and affordability of assisted living for all seniors.
We look forward to getting the legislation across the finish line before the end of the year!