The American Health Care Association

THE AMER I CAN HEALTH CARE ASSOC I AT ION childcare options. At the same time, already thinly stretched staff members had to do more than ever before, as residents required additional one-on-one care to help prevent the spread of the virus, as well as fill the void of loved ones who could not visit in-person. It is time we addressed this chronic crisis. We need a comprehensive strategy to recruit more health care heroes to serve our nation’s seniors and individuals with disabilities. The Care For Our Seniors Act offers a multi- phase tiered approach to supply, attract, and retain the next generation of caregivers leveraging federal, state, and academic entities. This includes loan forgiveness for new graduates who work in long term care, tax credits for licensed long term care professionals, and programs for affordable housing and childcare. We should also incentivize higher learning institutions to train new caregivers through increased subsidies to schools whose graduates work in nursing homes for at least five years. Also, nursing homes need resources to invest in their workforce and offer more competitive wages and benefits, so policymakers must fully fund nursing home care. Financing These Reforms Real, long-lasting transformation that will best serve our residents requires a considerable investment in the long term care profession. Providers stand ready to make meaningful changes, but it won’t be possible without a commitment from policymakers to provide the necessary and consistent financial support. Most of our residents rely on Medicaid to pay for their daily care, but the government program only reimburses providers 70 to 80 cents on the dollar of what it takes to deliver care. This means the average nursing home barely breaks even, leaving many unable to afford enhancements in their care delivery, workforce,