COVID-19 public health emergency extended again, maybe for the last time
By
Lois A. Bowers
Jan 11, 2023
The public health emergency due to COVID-19 has been renewed again for what many experts believe will be the last time.
$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...
‘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...
ASHA urges governors to advocate for independent living residents in vaccine plans
By
Lois A. Bowers
Jan 08, 2021
Governors should urge the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to include independent living residents in the top priority group for COVID-19 vaccinations and should adjust their state COVID-19 vaccine...
AHCA/NCAL wants long-term care residents, staff vaccinated against COVID by March 1
By
Lois A. Bowers
Dec 08, 2020
Governors and public health officials should ensure that residents and employees of long-term care facilities are prioritized before everyone else for COVID-19 vaccination and that they receive both doses...
AHCA/NCAL asks HHS to extend COVID-19 public health emergency past Jan. 11
By
Lois A. Bowers
Nov 03, 2022
The COVID-19 public health emergency should be extended past Jan. 11 “so that long-term and post-acute care providers can continue to offer the most efficient and effective care possible and so our nation’s...
Sharing lessons from the pandemic
By
Lois A. Bowers
Jun 06, 2022
Brookdale Senior Living President and CEO Lucinda “Cindy” Baier discusses her new book, “Heroes Work Here: An Extraordinary Story of Courage, Resilience and Hope from the Front Lines of COVID-19.”
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...
CMS extends deadlines for HCBS settings rule due to COVID-19 concerns
By
Lois A. Bowers
Jul 15, 2020
Citing concerns related to the coronavirus, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Tuesday said it would give states an additional year to comply with a settings rule related to the provision...
Federal effort ‘important first step’ but ‘far short’ of what’s needed to protect seniors against...
By
Lois A. Bowers
May 01, 2020
President Trump’s remark Thursday that seniors are being taken “very special care of” is “false,” and federal government efforts “far short of what’s needed to protect the most vulnerable...