1.5 million reasons not to ‘rob’ senior living to pay for roads, bridges and sewer pipes
By
Lois A. Bowers
Jul 26, 2021
Senior living and care leaders turned up the pressure on members of Congress on Friday, pointing out the dangers associated with a rumored plan to take $24 billion away from the Provider Relief Fund —...
Reporting COVID vaccination data to CMS would be ‘burdensome,’ ‘redundant’ for assisted living,...
By
Lois A. Bowers
Jul 14, 2021
Requiring assisted living providers to report weekly COVID-19 vaccination data to the federal government would add administrative and cost burdens to operators already challenged by the pandemic and even...
Senior living industry cautiously hopeful about Biden’s COVID response strategy
By
Lois A. Bowers
Jan 25, 2021
The U.S. Defense, Health and Human Services, and Veterans Affairs secretaries, along with other federal government agencies and officials, will work together to provide targeted surge assistance to assisted...
A new day in the battle against COVID
By
Lois A. Bowers
Jan 20, 2021
We all can agree that we’d like to see an end to the illness and death caused by the coronavirus. We’d like families and residents to be able to hug one another again. We’d like to stop having to...
‘Challenging public policy environment’ awaits senior living in 2021
By
Lois A. Bowers
Jan 07, 2021
The results of the November election and this week’s runoffs, combined with the COVID-19 pandemic, present an environment for senior living “unlike any it has seen in its 30-plus years,” according...
$3 billion addition to Provider Relief Fund ‘falls woefully short,’ provider groups say
By
Lois A. Bowers
Dec 22, 2020
A $900 billion COVID-19 relief bill is on its way to the president’s desk after being passed by both houses of Congress by late Monday. Trade associations representing senior living operators, however,...
‘Misleading’ report tied to federal bill with COVID-19-related requirements for assisted living,...
By
Lois A. Bowers
Jul 06, 2020
Assisted living communities would be required to report confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 to federal, state and local health officials, as well as to residents and their families — and would have...
$3 trillion HEROES Act passes in House with provisions for senior living, but Senate prospects dim
By
Lois A. Bowers
May 18, 2020
Although it remains to be seen whether the HEROES Act reaches the president’s desk, five provisions of the original or House-passed bill have a chance of becoming law, according to one source. Read other...
Frontline workers must be priority for COVID-19 resources, groups say; Juniper to test all residents,...
By
Lois A. Bowers
Apr 03, 2020
The safety and well-being of frontline workers in senior living and skilled nursing must be prioritized in order to ensure that older adults receive the care they need and that the spread of COVID-19 is...
Medicaid block grants will help address ‘looming cost crisis’ due to aging population, CMS says
By
Lois A. Bowers
Jan 31, 2020
The Medicaid block grant program announced Thursday by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services won’t directly affect elderly and disabled beneficiaries, CMS Administrative Seema Verma said, but...