There are growing indications that important legislation Argentum strongly supported last year will soon be reintroduced in the 118th Congress, likely by the end of this month.
Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chair Jon Tester (D-MT) has indicated that in the coming weeks he will introduce legislation he sponsored last year to expand veterans’ access to assisted living services. Last year, Senator Tester, along with Senators Jerry Moran (R-KS), and Patty Murray (D-WA), sponsored S. 4169, The Expanding Veterans’ Options for Long Term Care Act, that would have established a pilot program for eligible veterans to receive assisted living care paid for by the VA—allowing aging veterans to live more independently, save taxpayer dollars, and keep nursing homes beds available for veterans with higher skilled nursing needs.
Our veteran population is aging rapidly and so are their long-term care needs. Veterans who have mandatory eligibility for nursing home care are expected to increase by approximately 535% over the next 20 years. Many veterans eligible for nursing home care may not need the high level of skilled nursing care in an institutional setting and may prefer a more appropriate level of care in a home-like, independent, and social care model such as assisted living.
In 2020, the US Department of Veterans Affairs reported to Congress the critical need for increasing veterans access to different long-term care settings as the high cost and institutional nature of SNFs continue to overburden VA budgets. Specifically, the VA found that veteran placement in a SNF is $120,701 annually, compared to only $51,600 in an assisted living community. The study states that the VA would save $69,101 per assisted living placement per year.
It was because of these findings and in response to critical need for veterans’ long-term care that Senators Tester, Moran and Murray introduced S.4169, and why Representative Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) introduced companion legislation in the House (HR 8750). Argentum supported this commonsense legislation last year and is pleased that Senator Tester is planning to reintroduce the bill again in the 118th Congress.
Giving veterans more long-term care options is vital given the exponential rise in the need for care services—with 10,000 Americans turning age 70 every day. Assisted living communities are home to two million seniors, of which 42% are veterans or their spouses. However, the current VA prohibition on paying for assisted living room and board fees means many low-income veterans who participate in federal assistance programs have had to pay for almost all assisted living costs out of pocket. The Expanding Veterans’ Options for Long Term Care Act would be the first step in addressing this problem.
