LeadingAge on Tuesday shared a letter urging President Biden to supply relief for home-based care agencies and other aging services providers. The letter was a response to the increasing death rate from the Omicron variant.
“The Omicron surge is compounding existing challenges driven by the pandemic,” Katie Smith Sloan, the president and CEO of LeadingAge, said in a statement. “Staffing shortages and escalating operating costs are threatening our nation’s ability to care for older adults.”
Washington, D.C.-based LeadingAge is an association of more than 5,000 nonprofit aging services providers and organizations.
The recent surge of Omicron cases has had a significant toll on seniors, in particular, LeadingAge pointed out in its letter.
“People over age 65 represent close to 75% of those who have lost their lives to COVID-19 in the United States,” the letter read. “The people with the highest number of chronic conditions and functional impairments — many of whom use aging services — are at the highest risk.”
LeadingAge detailed a proposal that focuses on six key areas. The goal of addressing these areas is to help aging service providers remain open and delivering care to seniors.
“LeadingAge is focused on staffing, financial support, testing, therapeutics and waiver extensions because these are the areas that need attention to ensure that older adults and the people who care for them are healthy and safe from the coronavirus and that providers will be able to continue operations in the short term and into the future,” Sloan told Home Health Care News in an email.
In an effort to address staffing shortages, LeadingAge asked Congress to provide a one-time $2,000 relief payment to the 4.6 million direct care workers in the U.S. The organization also asked Congress to fund a permanent program that would increase direct care worker wages by $5 an hour.
The organization also requested an additional $8 billion to $10 billion in Provider Relief Funds, noting that the latest round of payments funded less than 45% of providers’ reported revenue losses and expenses through Q1 2021.
“Aging service providers, who serve older adults in both congregate settings and individual homes, continue to mount expenses for COVID-19 testing, adequate staffing, personal protective equipment and increasing costs of everyday products due to the pandemic,” LeadingAge wrote. “These providers should be prioritized for remaining and returned funds as they continue to battle COVID-19.”
Additionally, LeadingAge asked Congress to establish a dedicated aging services testing supply system.
Provider flexibility was also top of mind for LeadingAge. The organization called for a two-year extension of temporary waivers, including ones related to telehealth, after the public health emergency expires.
Plus, LeadingAge asked for support for affordable senior housing. Roughly 800,000 seniors live in HUD-subsidized affordable homes and rely on community-provided resources, according to the organization.
“The CARES Act provided $215 million to cover increased COVID-related expenses for these communities,” LeadingAge wrote. “Almost two years after enactment of the CARES Act, LeadingAge understands much remains unspent.”
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