Argentum staff met with the chief of staff of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) last week to discuss ways to increase access to assisted living for veterans, including with the pilot program to allow veterans to choose assisted living for their long-term care needs signed into law in January by President Biden, as part of the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act (S. 141).
The VA is now tasked with implementing the pilot program, which will be focused on two (of the 18 total) Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISN), with a maximum of 60 eligible veterans who may participate in each VISN. Our meeting provided an opportunity to educate the VA on the benefits of assisted living, cost savings to the VA, and the need to expand the pilot program and begin implementation as soon as possible. The VA reiterated that this is in line with the administration’s priorities and they will review their administrative abilities per our requests. The pilot is a three-year program through September 2028.