# The SENIOR Act of 2022: Financial Help for Assisted Living Facilities

The SENIOR Act is designed to provide emergency financial assistance to assisted living facilities and senior care homes that struggled financially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Think of it as a relief package specifically aimed at keeping these facilities operating and staffed during an ongoing crisis.

The bill creates two main types of financial support. First, it offers grants to assisted living facilities that lost money because of COVID-19 and kept operating through the pandemic anyway. These grants can be used to cover health care expenses related to the virus, make up for lost revenue, pay mortgages or rent, purchase protective equipment and cleaning supplies, and cover other costs needed to keep the facility running. The money can also go toward broadband and telehealth services so seniors can stay connected with doctors. Second, the bill provides separate grants to help these facilities train and hire new caregivers, since the industry lost hundreds of thousands of workers during the pandemic.

To qualify for this assistance, an assisted living facility must prove it lost money because of COVID-19, kept its doors open from March 2020 through the end of that year, and certify that it will use the money to support seniors' health and well-being, keep workers employed, and maintain the facility. The bill sets aside $10 billion for the main relief grants and $1.25 billion for caregiver training programs. Facilities can use up to 5 percent of their grants for administrative costs, meaning most of the money must go directly toward operations and care. The bill also requires the government to report back to Congress within two years on whether this assistance actually helped these facilities survive and serve seniors better.

SENIOR Act of 2022

Trahan, Lori

Safeguarding Elderly Needs for Infrastructure and Occupational Resources Act of 2022 or the SENIOR Act of 2022 This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to award grants to assisted living facilities for health care expenses and lost revenue attributable to COVID-19 and other purposes. It also addresses matters related to the senior caregiver workforce. To receive a grant, an assisted living facility must demonstrate that it had uncompensated losses due to COVID-19 and consistently maintained operations from March 13, 2020, to December 31, 2020. A facility must also certify that the grant is necessary for its ongoing operations. HHS must also award grants to assisted living facilities for broadband connectivity and telehealth support and other operation and maintenance costs. The Government Accountability Office must report on the efficacy of these grants. With respect to the senior caregiver workforce, the bill authorizes grants for assisted living facilities to establish or expand workforce training and recruitment programs. The National Health Care Workforce Commission must also designate the workforce needs of assisted living and other senior care populations as a high priority area and report on those needs.