Two US senators are proposing a new national advisory commission on long-term care services, but the legislation creating it does not appear to include nursing home representatives.
Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and John Boozman (R-AR) introduced the Supporting Our Seniors Act, which would create the Commission on Long-Term Care. That body would report regularly to Congress on service delivery, financing, workforce adequacy and other issues related to long-term care to help increase access by seniors and people with disabilities to services that support daily living.
“Our bipartisan legislation would help to increase access to long-term care by creating a commission to examine the challenges and needs in care services,” Rosen (pictured) said in a press release that referenced her having cared for aging parents.
The federal commission would be composed of 12 members appointed by the president, the Speaker and Minority Leader of the House, and the Senate Majority and Minority leaders. The commission would be charged with making policy recommendations to Congress on 10 topics, including long-term care coverage for people not eligible for Medicaid, financing options for low- and middle-income individuals, and workforce stability.
The legislative language, which is not yet available online but was provided Tuesday to McKnight’s Long-Term Care News, does not mention nursing homes or providers. Neither Boozman nor Rosen’s offices responded to questions from McKnight’s about the lack of mentions of nursing homes in the legislation creating the commission.
The press release announcing the legislation, however, did specify that Commission members would come from the palliative and hospice care sectors, and also include representatives from labor, aging and geriatrics, long-term care insurance, caregiver and patient advocates, and home- and community-based services.
“Establishing a national advisory commission will help us better prepare for future challenges in regard to coordinating services, training a workforce to meet seniors’ and individuals’ with disabilities needs as well as providing information and options to empower them and their caregivers with the resources available,” Boozman said.
