Sponsors (3)
The bill shifts federal support toward expanded assisted living, monthly assistance for low-income seniors, and workforce training to lower long-term care costs and expand community-based care, but does so with increased federal spending, potential reallocation of relief funds, administrative burdens, workforce shortfalls, and eligibility/quality risks that could leave some people underserved.
Low-income seniors (70+) in assisted living would receive a $1,000/month payment to cut out-of-pocket costs and help them remain in community-based settings.
Direct care workers, prospective workers, and employers would gain expanded training, certification, and job opportunities, improving workforce quality, increasing in-home/community care capacity, and supporting hiring pipelines.
Medicaid, VA, and state budgets could see reduced long-term care spending pressure if lower-cost assisted living and community-based options are adopted, stretching benefits further and potentially lowering public spending growth.
Taxpayers and state governments face much higher projected public long-term care costs over coming decades, implying greater future taxes or deficits if the overall spending trend is not contained.
If recruiting, training, and retention fall short, the large projected shortfall in long-term care workers could worsen access, raise costs, and leave seniors without needed services.
Some people who need higher-level skilled nursing could be under-served if assisted living is substituted without strong assessments/regulations, and tying eligibility to Medicaid/IRS definitions could leave medically needy people ineligible.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Creates $1,000/month state-paid benefits for eligible low-income seniors in assisted living and funds grants to expand direct care workforce training; funded by recovered COVID provider-relief funds.
Official title: To address the worsening long-term care workforce crisis and increase access to and affordability of long-term care.
Introduced April 24, 2025 by Brian K. Fitzpatrick · Last progress April 24, 2025
Creates a federal program to reduce costs for low-income seniors to live in assisted living instead of institutional nursing care and expands federal training and education grants to grow the direct care workforce that supports older adults and people with disabilities. The bill sets an initial monthly state-paid benefit of $1,000 (adjusted yearly by CPI-U) for eligible seniors living in State-approved assisted living, defines eligibility and assisted living, and directs HHS and DOL to fund training and certification supports for direct care workers. Funds to carry out the law are authorized to come from amounts recovered or returned to HRSA or the Treasury that were originally disbursed to health care providers for COVID-related expenses or lost revenues; the bill requires States to apply to receive allotments and sets income and resource limits for beneficiaries.