Alexandria, Va. – Argentum president and CEO James Balda joined the leaders of three other organizations representing long-term care (LTC) providers in sending a letter to the Biden administration calling for immediate allocation of remaining Provider Relief Fund dollars. Argentum also announced a month-long advocacy campaign to support the release of these funds.
“While much of the economy is recovering, for these [long-term care] providers, COVID-19 is not over and the rapidly spreading Delta variant underscores the need to remain vigilant,” wrote the leaders of Argentum, the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL), American Seniors Housing Association (ASHA) and LeadingAge. “Providers have been anticipating the forthcoming Phase 4 of [Provider Relief Fund] relief for months, and the administration must ensure that these funds are made available in full and as quickly as possible.”
Long-term care providers have incurred nearly $30 billion in expenses and losses from COVID-19 due to PPE, staffing needs, overtime, and hero pay combined with record-low occupancy rates. Congress created the Provider Relief Fund within the CARES Act to help offset losses like that, but less than 1 percent of that funding has been allocated toward helping the nation’s senior living communities, which care for a vulnerable population.
To continue to urge the quick and equitable distribution of these critical funds, Argentum also announced today a five-week campaign to encourage the Biden administration to #ReleasethePRF.
“Argentum has been working for months to quickly disburse these funds and is committed to doing everything possible to get these funds released to providers,” said Argentum president and CEO James Balda. “This campaign will use direct outreach to the administration, grassroots engagement, strategic media placements, and congressional support to urge the Biden administration to use its authority to distribute this money.”
Each week of Argentum’s #ReleasethePRF campaign will feature a different theme and will ask for active engagement among everyone across the entire senior living industry to ensure the message is heard by the Biden administration as clearly as possible.
About Argentum
Argentum is the leading national association exclusively dedicated to supporting companies operating professionally managed, resident-centered senior living communities and the older adults and families they serve. Since 1990, Argentum has advocated for choice, independence, dignity, and quality of life for all older adults.
Argentum member companies operate senior living communities offering assisted living, independent living, continuing care, and memory care services. Along with its state partners, Argentum’s membership represents approximately 75 percent of the senior living industry—an industry with a national economic impact of nearly a quarter of a trillion dollars and responsible for providing over 1.6 million jobs. These numbers will continue to grow as the U.S. population ages.
Argentum’s programs and initiatives are driven by its membership. Learn more at argentum.org.
