We are thrilled to share that moments ago, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 382-12 to pass S. 141, the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act, which includes a measure to expand access of assisted living for veterans. The bill next goes to the White House for President Biden's signature.
Argentum strongly supports this legislation and has championed its provision to establish a pilot program to allow eligible veterans to choose assisted living instead of nursing home care for their long-term care benefit. Under Section 127 of the legislation, 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.
This provision was based on the bipartisan Expanding Veterans’ Options for Long Term Care Act (H.R. 1815 and S. 495), and was itself prompted by the report from the VA to Congress in 2021 on the current and projected needs for Long Term Services and Supports (LTSS) and the need to expand options for Veterans long-term care, such as assisted living. The report notes that the percent of Veterans 85 or older who are eligible for nursing home care will increase nearly 535% over the next 20 years (from 61,000 to 387,000) and the VA would realize a potential nursing home savings of $69,101 per placement per year, with the annual Cost of a CNH placement was $120,701 in 2020 and the annual Cost of an Assisted Living Placement at $51,600—less than half the cost.
Argentum worked with lawmakers this summer to include language from the Expanding Veterans’ Options for Long Term Care Act into the Elizabeth Dole Act, and since then has worked with more than 50 stakeholder groups to urge passage of the comprehensive veterans package before the end of the Congressional session. The House passed a version of the package last month by a sweeping 389-9 vote, and the most recent version of the package was passed unanimously by the Senate last week.
As the legislation heads to the president's desk to be signed into law, we are confident the pilot program to expand access of assisted living to veterans will demonstrate the significant value of assisted living and can be broadly expanded after its completion. We will be working closely with the Secretary-designate of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Doug Collins, in advance of and following his confirmation to promote assisted living as a cost-effective option for veterans.
Thank you to everyone who has helped us advance this important bill, from grassroots messages to meetings at the Public Policy Institute, and community tours or in-district events with lawmakers throughout the year. These efforts have been instrumental in leading to passage of the legislation, and we look forward to it being signed into law.