“We applaud the effort in both chambers of Congress to reach a bipartisan agreement that benefits the American people without jeopardizing access to skilled nursing care for millions of seniors.

The proposal passed by the Senate will allow seniors to access critical therapy services and prevent the enactment of arbitrary caps. It also addresses the annual "doc fix" and extends the payroll tax cut, all without turning to our seniors as a pay for.

We encourage the House to quickly take up the Senate measure, which recognizes that further cuts to the long term and post-acute care profession are simply too much. We look forward to working with Congress in 2012 to ensure continued access to skilled nursing care for our nation’s seniors."

As the nation’s largest association of long term and post-acute care providers, the American Health Care Association (AHCA) advocates for quality care and services for frail, elderly and disabled Americans. Compassionate and caring employees provide essential care to one million individuals in our 11,000 not-for-profit and proprietary member facilities.