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East Coast Legislators Focus on Assisted LivingBy Kelli M. Donley New Hampshire Association of Residental Care Homes (NHARCH) Officials at NHARCH are following a handful of legislation that would impact senior living in the eastern state.
For more information about NHARCH, email: assnrhc@aol.com. Rhode Island Assisted Living Association (RIALA) Acting director Robert Henry says there are several pieces of legislation officials at RIALA are watching this year. His highest priorities include voting for:
Henry says RIALA officials are also lobbying against one bill: S-0392, H-5822, which would revise the definition of assisted living in an different manner. For more information, visit: www.riala.org. Federal Briefs AAHSA, AHCA, NCAL Lobby For Liability LegislationThe American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (AAHSA) has announced their support for legislation curbing the limits of liability lawsuits. The bill, Help Efficient, Accessible, Low-cost, Timely Healthcare (HEALTH) Act of 2003, was introduced by Rep. James Greenwood (R-Pa.). Marsha R. Greenfield, senior attorney with AAHSA, says the association's full support is behind President Bush's push for preventing excessive lawsuits against healthcare providers, including nursing homes. "The long-term care liability and insurance crisis in America must be remedied or seniors' access to care and services will suffer," she writes. "The cost of medical liability insurance, coupled with the lack of reasonable limits on damage awards, especially for aging services organizations with good track records and a few, if any, claims, is one of the biggest threats to the financial viability of our country's nursing homes and providers of senior housing and services. These costs leave fewer dollars to pay for staff and other essential operating expenses." The legislation is receiving similar praise from other senior living officials as well. Charles H. Roadman, II, MD, CNA and president and CEO of the American Health Care Association (AHCA) and the National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) says the bill would improve care for seniors nationally. "Throughout the nation, nursing, assisted living and disability service providers are experiencing dramatic and unprecedented increases in liability insurance premiums due to a growing number of lawsuits that unjustly threaten access to quality care, and divert public resources from their intended purpose," he says. "Congressman Greenwood deserves praise for his persistence in pursing the pro-patient tort reforms inherent in his bill, and we look forward to working with him, leaders in the U.S. Senate and President Bush to pass this vital legislation into law." At time of press, it has moved to the Senate and has been placed on the legislative calendar. For more information, visit: www.aahsa.org, www.ahca.org, www.ncal.org, http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c108:5:./temp/~c108jp1Bnj. Geriatrics Bill Pursued Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) and Harry Reid (D-NV) are receiving praise from the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) for reintroducing the Geriatric Care Act, originally proposed in 2001. The act would increase the number of geriatricians via training incentives and create new Medicare geriatric assessment and care coordination benefits. "The number of geriatric physicians in the United States is insufficient to meet the current and future healthcare needs of our Medicare beneficiaries," says Jerry Johnson, MD, president of AGS. "This bill will remove barriers to care faced by the elderly, increase our numbers and enhance the services we are able to provide. It is imperative that Congress follow the lead of Senators Lincoln and Reid and take action on this essential piece of legislation." At time of press, the bill had been referred to the House Subcommittee on Health. For more information, visit: www.americangeriatrics.org.
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