The Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act, signed into law last year, included a three-year pilot program to allow a limited number of veterans to choose assisted living for their long-term care needs, instead of a veterans nursing home. The pilot program was initiated by the Expanding Veterans’ Options for Long Term Care Act that Argentum championed with other veterans and long-term care advocates.
The U.S. House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations recently held a hearing with VA officials on the progress of implementing the legislation, where they noted 25 of the legislation’s 72 sections have been fully implemented to date, with the pilot program still outstanding as the VA works to develop the necessary purchasing authority and a fee schedule for the program.
Since the law’s enactment last year, Argentum has met several times with senior leadership at the VA and the White House to press for quick implementation, and we believe the administration is working productively and that implementation is on track. We are also advocating for expansion of the program to allow all veterans to be able to choose assisted living, due to the significant projected savings to the VA and giving veterans a choice.
In addition to the VA, Argentum has also been pressing Congress for action on the program, with lawmakers sending letters last year and we are working with champions of the original Expanding Veterans’ Options for Long Term Care Act to advance language as part of the upcoming Fiscal Year 2027 appropriations package that would evaluate long-term care settings and costs, following up on the VA’s report to Congress in 2021 that identified the nearly $70,000 per veteran in annual cost savings who choose assisted living for their care needs.