Wyden, Senate Democrats Unveil Plans to Improve Long-Term Care Amid Republican Attacks

Wyden, Senate Democrats Unveil Plans to Improve Long-Term Care Amid Republican Attacks

Senators Reveal Plan to Create Incentives for More Home Care, Safer Nursing Homes and a Robust Care Workforce Latest Dear Colleague Comes As Republicans Cut Billions from Medicaid, Worsening Home Care and Nursing Home Care for Seniors and Americans with Disabilities

Text of the Letter (PDF) / Text of the Flash Report

Washington, D.C. - Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and 16 Senate Democrats today announced a new initiative to improve access and affordability for long-term care for seniors, Americans with disabilities, and their families.

The letter, sent to Senate colleagues and signed by Senators Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M.; Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill.; Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md.; Tim Kaine, D-Va.; Angus King, I-Maine; Andy Kim, D-N.J.; Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.; Cory Booker, D-N.J.; Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.; Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii; Chris Murphy, D-Conn.; Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.; Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.; Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.; Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del.; and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., outlines plans to expand home care, align incentives for improved care in nursing homes, and address workforce shortages to create quality, sustainable jobs for both types of care.

"America is failing people who are aging and those with disabilities, who should have every opportunity to live at home and thrive in their communities," the senators wrote. "Democrats want to ensure American families have affordable, high-quality care in the setting they choose and quality jobs and living wages for direct care workers. Families that rely on nursing homes should have the peace of mind that their loved ones will receive quality care, and incentives should reward safe staffing. We want to ensure the Senate is prepared to act on these issues when Democrats have another opportunity to enact the bold, meaningful change the American people demand and deserve."

The letter describes three goals that will be the focus for policy development among the group in the coming weeks and months:

• Make home care affordable and accessible
• Improve the quality of care in nursing homes
• Use incentives to strengthen the long-term care workforce

In contrast to these efforts, Republicans have spent their time in power making long-term care harder to get, including cutting the largest payer of long-term care services, Medicaid, by nearly $1 trillion. In addition, Republicans repealed staffing standards for nursing homes that guaranteed access to a registered nurse 24/7. After Trump promised not to hurt anybody with Medicare and Medicaid, he's breaking yet another promise. Alongside the letter, Wyden released a flash report outlining the harm to long-term care in America since Trump and Republicans took control.

In February, Wyden and Senate Democrats released a plan to take on the high cost of prescription drugs, amid Trump's continued smoke and mirrors and broken promises to rein in Big Pharma. In March, Wyden and Senate Democrats released a plan to address Americans' dissatisfaction with their health insurance.

The text of the letter is here. The flash report on Trump's harm to long-term care can be found here.

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