Archived Article: Washington Update - Assisted Living Federation of America's Affordable Housing Initiative (Copyright, Center for Medicare Advocacy, Inc.)

ASSISTED LIVING FEDERATION OF
AMERICA HOSTS CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING
ON ITS AFFORDABLE HOUSING INITIATIVE

The Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA), a trade association of the assisted living industry, hosted a Congressional briefing on July 12 on ALFAcare, its new Affordable Housing Initiative. This Initiative reflects a new focus for the industry that, over the last decade, has aggressively and conspicuously concentrated on the higher income private-pay market.

Presenters from the Health Care Financing Administration, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the NCB Development Corporation (which is expanding affordable assisted living opportunities under a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation), and four assisted living providers discussed state and federal initiatives to expand coverage of assisted living for low- and moderate-income older people.

HCFA=s representative, Mary Clarkson, described the Medicaid home and community-based waiver program, HCFA=s sole funding source for assisted living. She said that the agency does not want to replicate the nursing home survey and certification system for assisted living. Shaun Donovan, HUD=s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multifamily Housing Programs, described the Housing Security Plan for Older Americans, announced in January 1999, which included a $50 million grant program to convert '202 housing into assisted living. He also discussed HUD=s efforts to encourage the production of new assisted living units and the need to bring together housing activity, controlled by HUD in Washington, DC, with home and community-based Medicaid waiver money, controlled by states. Assisted living providers described various successful efforts to expand assisted living for low- and moderate-income people through such mechanisms as Medicaid waivers, HUD '202 money used for new construction, tax credits, and tax-exempt bonds.

Senator Tim Hutchinson (R, AR) discussed the possibility of expanding Medicare to cover assisted living, a view not shared by the HCFA representative, who said that Medicare was Anot part of the picture@ for funding.

For further information, contact Toby Edelman in the Washington, DC office.