Argentum and the American Seniors Housing Association (ASHA) sent a comment letter yesterday in response to the Request for Information (RFI) issued jointly by the Federal Trade Commission, Department of Justice, and Health and Human Services related to health care consolidation.

While the RFI does not directly include assisted living in its scope, we used it as an opportunity to share the role that private equity and REIT investment play in meeting the growing needs of our aging population who rely on senior living communities. We specifically called attention to the differences of assisted living compared to clinical health care settings, including their residential nature and role in helping to facilitate access to health care services, not being reliant on reimbursements from Medicare, Medicaid, or private insurance, and how private investment has been and will continue to be critical in meeting the housing and care needs of an aging population.

The RFI was issued following a virtual workshop led by the FTC in early March, “Private Capital, Public Impact: An FTC Workshop on Private Equity in Health Care.” There are not yet specific plans for regulations to be issued by the agencies based on this RFI, but we will be closely monitoring. More than 6,000 stakeholder comments were submitted in response to the RFI.

The Biden Administration announced yesterday that it would end the national health care worker vaccination mandate concurrently with the end of the public health emergency (PHE) on May 11. The administration terminated the separate COVID-19 national emergency on April 10, by enacting H.J. Res 7.

The Biden Administration released its budget request to Congress earlier today, seeking $5.8 trillion in spending in the 2023 fiscal year. While it does not specifically include the Build Back Better (BBB) plan as it had in last year’s budget, it does include a “deficit-neutral reserve fund” intended to act as a placeholder for these priorities.

President Biden addressed a joint session of Congress tonight, declaring that “the State of the Union is strong” and “stronger today than we were a year ago” as the pandemic enters its third year. The president outlined a four-part plan to continue to combat the virus and move forward safely back to more normal routines, to include: (1) vaccines and treatments; (2) preparing for new variants; (3) ending the shutdown of schools and businesses; and (4) continuing to vaccinate the world.

OSHA announced today that it plans to withdraw its Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS), effective upon its publication in the Federal Register tomorrow. The Supreme Court ruled earlier this month to block enforcement of the OSHA ETS and signaled that if it were to come before the Court again it was likely to be overturned.

Argentum sent a letter to President Biden yesterday, reiterating the urgent needs of senior living facilities as additional COVID-19 response measures are considered in the wake of the Omicron variant.

The federal public health emergency (PHE) was renewed today by HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, extending the PHE for an additional 90-days. Without today's action, the PHE would have expired on January 16. This is the fourth extension of the PHE since it was first ordered by then-HHS Secretary Alex Azar in January 2020.

Argentum sent a letter to President Biden and HHS Secretary Becerra today, imploring the administration to directly supply senior living facilities with COVID-19 testing supplies, resuming a federal program for vaccine and booster administration, and reiterating the need for targeted federal financial relief.

Argentum issued the following press release in response to yesterday's announcement by HHS and HRSA on the Phase 4 Provider Relief Fund allocations.

Argentum Calls Out Biden Administration for Indefensibly Low COVID Relief Payments for Senior Living Caregivers

One day after HHS/HRSA said it is releasing $9 billion in Provider Relief Funds, a closer look at the methodology used to determine payments for assisted living providers is severely lacking.

Later this week, HHS and HRSA are expected to begin distributing approximately $9 billion from the Provider Relief Fund (PRF) to eligible health care providers. These funds are part of the $17 billion allocated in Phase 4 of the PRF, which was made possible in part due to Argentum's  advocacy efforts to save the PRF from a near-certain elimination and then to release the funds to providers.