Senior Care Stakeholders: Latest COVID-19 Relief Proposal Is ‘Shameful,’ ‘Anemic’

Senate Republicans are close to unveiling their latest version of another coronavirus relief bill, with reports suggesting party leaders may do so Wednesday or soon thereafter.

The proposal — first obtained by Washington, D.C.-based newsroom Roll Call — is viewed as a “skinny” version of the previously released HEALS Act from July. Among its provisions, the Republican plan seeks to provide $300 in weekly unemployment insurance, additional money for coronavirus testing and another $158 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which closed for applications on Aug. 8.

Of note for home health providers and other organizations operating in the long-term and post-acute care spaces, the skinny bill appears to do little to alleviate financial and workforce hardships triggered by the public health emergency. In turn, it offers “no real relief” to the older Americans such providers serve, according to Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO of the national aging services advocacy group LeadingAge.