Advocacy News

Legislation included in the BBA earlier this year may present Congress with a model to expand certain long-term care and supports. Passed with bipartisan support as part of the budget bill approved earlier this year, the “Creating High-Quality Results and Outcomes Necessary to Improve Chronic (CHRONIC) Care Act of 2018,” provides Medicare Advantage plans the…

As part of OIG’s ongoing efforts to fight waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicare, Medicaid, and more than 100 other HHS programs, it recently released a report identifying vulnerabilities to fraud and poor care. The new report covers hospice care since 2005 and increases in utilization and reimbursement. OIG made more than a dozen recommendations…

On July 18, the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Labor-Management Standards issued a final rule rescinding the so-called “persuader rule,” a controversial Obama-era regulation requiring employers to disclose advice received about labor unions. Specifically, the persuader rule altered the advice exemption under the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act, interfering with both employers’ access…

As part of efforts to continue to elevate the issue of long-term care financing and in response to draft legislation by Rep. Frank Pallone, Argentum is actively engaged with Congressional Committees including the House Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, Veterans Affairs, and Senate Finance. While Rep. Pallone’s draft legislation would expand the Medicare program…

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ), who currently serves as the Ranking Member of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, has filed H.R. 6563, which would establish a public long-term care benefit of the Medicare program for elderly and disabled individuals by creating a new Part E under Medicare entitled Long Term Care Services and Supports (LTSS).…

The House of Representatives is slated to pass over 59 bills coming from five different oversight committees addressing the opioid crisis.  The Senate Finance Committee has also unanimously approved legislation that combines 22 bills recently introduced by committee members.  The Senate opioid package includes provisions that would expand telehealth access for addiction treatment, remove lifetime…

To address the growing shortage of geriatric health care professionals and direct caregivers to support our aging population, Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Bob Casey (D-PA), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Aging Committee respectively, introduced the Geriatrics Workforce Improvement Act. This legislation would reauthorize the Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP) and the…

In response to recent efforts by labor unions to garner support for stripping workers’ rights to secret ballots and private voting in union elections, in advance of the mid-term elections, Argentum joined Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW) in strong opposition of S. 2810, the Workplace Democracy Act (WDA).  This far-reaching legislation would: Strip workers’…

To address the growing need for long-term care supports and services for over 90 million Americans age 65 and older by 2055, Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) unveiled a discussion draft to create a new Medicare benefit that would extend services to eligible beneficiaries for long-term care. The proposal would cover all long-term services and supports,…

To ensure that capital for senior housing (including assisted living, memory care residences, and CCRCs) is not excluded from TCJA interest deduction provisions, Argentum along with other allied senior housing partners are working with Senator James Lankford (R-OK) and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) to clarify the intent of the Senate Finance Committee…