As Congress returns to session in September, it’s important to remember the pieces of legislation that AHCA/NCAL has been supportive of throughout the current Congressional Session. These bills serve as the result of continued advocacy efforts across our profession and are useful markers to further communicate the needs of the long term care community.
Our Advocacy Focus
One of the principal legislative issues of this Congressional Session has been Medicare Advantage. At the center of our advocacy efforts has been the Medicare Advantage Improvement Act (S. 4384/H.R. 8375), which strengthens beneficiary protections while also addressing concerns with prior authorization and payment practices.
The
Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act (
S.1816/
H.R. 3514), has also seen positive legislative movement recently as it passed a markup in the House Ways & Means and Energy & Commerce Committees. The versions of the bill passed were slightly different, so we will be watching further actions very closely.
Other bills AHCA/NCAL has endorsed relevant to Medicare Advantage include:
Quality Care and Workforce also remain high AHCA/NCAL priorities. The
Ensuring Seniors’ Access to Quality Care Act (
S. 4467/
H.R. 7096), otherwise known as the CNA Lockout Bill, seeks to improve SNFs ability to resume and improve in-house CNA programs that have been halted due to CMPs unrelated to quality of care.
We are also monitoring the
Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act (
S. 4641/
H.R.3954), also known as the Observation Stay Bill, which aims to protect beneficiary access to covered post-acute care by including Hospital observation days in Medicare’s three-day qualifying stay.
If you have the opportunity to host a Member of Congress at your facility or community, or meet with a Member in the coming months, please feel free to refer back to these bills for your advocacy efforts.
More information on these, as well as other important bills, is available on the AHCA/NCAL Advocacy Page under the
Bill Tracker section.