H.R. 3000: Caring for Seniors Act

HR3000 is built around one blunt reality: the country is getting older faster than its care system is growing. The bill cites 10,000 Americans turning 65 every day, says the population over 65 will be larger than the population under 18 by 2034, and projects the 85-and-older population will grow 198% by 2060. It also says 47,000,000 Americans age 60 and older do not have the financial resources for future care.

The bill responds in two ways. First, it tells the Department of Labor and the Department of Health and Human Services to establish or expand education and training grant programs for the direct care workforce, including core certification and training for assisted living facility staff. That matters because the senior living industry lost about 400,000 jobs from 2020 to 2022, while more than 20,200,000 jobs are projected to be needed by 2040.

Second, the bill creates a new Senior Care Cost Reduction Program under the Older Americans Act that would provide eligible seniors with $1,000 per month, adjusted for inflation starting one year after the program is established using the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers and rounded to the nearest dollar. To qualify, a person must be at least age 70, live in or be admitted to a State-approved assisted living facility, be chronically ill or eligible for State Medicaid long-term services, have net monthly income below the facility's approved monthly fees, have net annual income no higher than 60% of the State median income, and have resources of no more than $19,000 if single or $25,000 if married.

The policy logic is cost control as much as elder care. The bill points to 2020 long-term care spending of more than $400,000,000,000, with public spending covering 71.4% and Medicaid plus Medicare covering 64.1%. It also argues assisted living can be cheaper than institutional care, citing potential Veterans Affairs savings of $69,101 per veteran per year when assisted living is chosen over a nursing home, and warning that forcing 61% of assisted living residents into skilled nursing facilities could cost $43,400,000,000 annually.