The Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs is holding a legislative hearing this afternoon on 19 pieces of legislation, including S. 495, the Expanding Veterans’ Options for Long Term Care Act. Argentum strongly supports this bill in demonstrating the value of assisted living and providing Veterans a choice in their long-term care.
Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Hearing
Wednesday, July 12, 2023
3:00 pm ET
In prior testimony, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) affirmed its support of the legislation, subject to some technical corrections, noting that, "VA supports the protections this bill would include to ensure that Veterans are protected and receiving safe and appropriate care." Additionally, prior testimony by Dr. Erica Scavella, MD, Assistant Under Secretary for Health for Clinical Services at the VA noted, “VA generally agrees that specific authority, particularly in the form of a pilot program, to furnish assisted living services would be a helpful addition to VA’s options for long-term care. VA has encountered difficulties in appropriately placing Veterans who may only require assisted living services because these Veterans do not qualify for nursing home care.”
Argentum submitted testimony for the record calling attention to growing support for the bill. We underscored that, "Senior living communities are home to some two million seniors, 42% of whom 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. S. 495 is the first step in addressing this issue by helping VA provide access to a greater range of long-term care options, and to prepare to care for the ever-increasing population of aging veterans."
The legislation was introduced in February by Senators Jon Tester (D-MT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jerry Moran (R-KS), and Mike Rounds (R-SD). It calls for creating a three-year pilot program for eligible veterans to receive assisted living care paid for by the VA; it would be offered at at least six Veterans Integrated Services Networks (VISNs) nationwide. It is a companion to H.R. 1815, introduced in March by Representatives Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and Bryan Steil (R-WI) that has already garnered 12 bipartisan cosponsors.
The impetus of the legislation was a report issued in 2021 by the US Department of Veterans Affairs that called attention to the need to increase Veterans access to different long-term care settings, citing the high cost and institutional nature of skilled nursing facilities (SNFs). The report found that Veteran placement in a SNF is $120,701 annually, compared to only $51,600 in an assisted living community, and therefore the VA could save $69,101 per assisted living placement per year. This is increasingly important as Veterans who have mandatory eligibility for nursing home care are expected to increase by approximately 535% over the next 20 years.
The hearing comes less than a month after the House Committee on Veterans Affairs held a legislative hearing on the bill, where a representative from the VA and other groups testified their support of the legislation.