WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL), representing more than 14,000 nursing homes and long term care facilities across the country that provide care to approximately five million people each year, released a statement ahead of today’s U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing titled, “The Long-Term Care Workforce: Addressing Shortages and Improving the Profession.”
The statement is attributable to
AHCA/NCAL Senior Vice President of Government Relations Clif Porter:
“We appreciate Chairman Casey (D-PA) and Ranking Member Braun (R-IN) for holding today’s hearing on this important issue, especially as nursing homes have been hardest hit by the workforce crisis. It is critical that the federal government support the entire long term care profession rather than exacerbate the growing caregiver shortage and limit access to care for our seniors and individuals with disabilities. We need programs and resources to fix this labor crisis, not unfunded requirements and regulations.
“As members of the committee discuss the current state of the long term care workforce, it’s important they recognize that nursing homes and assisted living communities continue to do everything possible to hire more caregivers. Ninety-nine percent of nursing homes currently have open jobs, despite increasing wages at rates higher than any other health care sector. However, the labor market—especially in rural communities—does not exist to meet the demand for caregivers. With a rapidly growing elderly population, this caregiver gap will only widen unless our nation’s policymakers make a significant investment in our nation’s seniors and those who care for them.
“This conversation on Capitol Hill comes as the Biden Administration is expected to soon finalize its unfunded staffing mandate for nursing homes. Our hope is that after today’s hearing, more lawmakers will join the growing bipartisan opposition to this flawed mandate and urge the Biden Administration to reconsider. We must focus on meaningful and comprehensive policies that will actually help long term care facilities recruit and retain workers as well as build a strong pipeline of caregivers. We hope to continue working with Congress and the administration to find more supportive ways to ensure our nation’s seniors have continued access to care.”
AHCA/NCAL supports the following bipartisan bills in Congress that would help address the long term care workforce crisis:
- Building America’s Health Care Workforce Act (H.R. 468): This bill, introduced by Representatives Brett Guthrie (R-KY), Madeleine Dean (D-PA), and David B. McKinley (R-WV), would give temporary nurse aides (TNA) working in nursing homes 24 months to become certified nursing assistants (CNA), instead of the current four months. The bill recognizes that many states are dealing with CNA training and testing backlogs. The legislation would also allow TNAs to apply their on-the-job experience and training toward the 75-hour federal training requirement to become a CNA.
- Ensuring Seniors’ Access to Quality Care Act (S. 1749/H.R. 3227): Introduced by Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and Tim Scott (R-SC) as well as Representatives Gerry Connolly (D-VA) and Ron Estes (R-KS), the bill allows nursing facilities that have been required to terminate their in-house education programs to resume those programs once deficiencies are corrected. This bill also gives providers access to the National Practitioner Data Bank to conduct background checks and help identify the best candidates for open positions.
- Healthcare Workforce Resilience Act (S. 3211/H.R. 6205): Introduced by Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND) as well as Representatives Brad Schneider (IL-10), Yadira Caraveo (CO-08), Don Bacon (NE-02), and Tom Cole (OK-04) in the House, this bill allows for the recapture of unused visas from previous fiscal years for doctors, nurses, and their families. The legislation would also direct the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State to expedite the processing of these applications.
- Train More Nurses Act (S. 2853/H.R. 6122): Introduced by Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Mike Braun (R-IN), and Susan Collins (R-ME) in the Senate and Representatives Zachary Nunn (R-IA), Dina Titus (D-NV), and Susie Lee (D-NV) in the House, the Train More Nurses Act directs the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Secretary of Labor to conduct a review of all nursing grant programs to find ways to increase faculty at nursing schools, particularly in underserved areas. It also increases pathways for Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) to become Registered Nurses (RNs).
- Protecting Rural Seniors’ Access to Care Act (S. 3410/H.R. 7513): Sponsored by Senators Deb Fischer (R-NE) and Jon Tester (D-MT), this bipartisan bill and its House companion bill, introduced by Representatives Michelle Fischbach (R-MN) and Greg Pence (R-IN) and co-sponsored by Representative Jared Golden (D-ME), prohibits the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from being able to finalize the proposed staffing requirement for nursing homes. Additionally, this bill would create an advisory council to analyze nursing home labor shortages. The panel would then submit a report to Congress with recommendations to strengthen the sector’s workforce.