Survey: U.S. Voters Strongly Support More Funding for Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Communities in Response to Coronavirus Pandemic (press release)

• By a three-to-one margin, voters say that nursing homes and assisted living communities need more money for supplies, staffing and increased testing capabilities.
• 72 percent of voters agree that a lack of government funding has had a negative impact on the quality of care that residents of these facilities are receiving.
• Nearly eight out of ten voters support the federal government providing $10 billion in emergency relief funding for nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

(WASHINGTON, DC) – According to a new national survey, a vast majority of U.S. voters believe long term care facilities, including nursing homes and assisted living communities, need more support from the government and the lack of support thus far has negatively impacted their ability to protect seniors. By a three-to-one margin, voters say that nursing homes and assisted living communities need more money for personal protective equipment (PPE), staff, and increased testing capabilities.

By an overwhelming margin, U.S. voters want the government to provide long term care facilities with the same level of support as hospitals, including more than 80 percent of those over 65-years-old supporting an additional $10 billion in funding for long term care facilities to provide additional PPE, staff, and testing to residents, according to the survey conducted on May 6-9, 2020 among 1,500 U.S. registered voters by GS Strategy Group.

Mark Parkinson, president and CEO of American Healthcare Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) which represents more than 14,000 long term care facilities including nursing homes and assisted living facilities across the country, said the survey shows that Americans are deeply concerned about the impact of COVID-19 on long term care facilities and want their government leaders to rally around nursing homes and assisted living communities

“The American people want federal and state leaders to rally around nursing home and assisted living residents the same way we have around hospital patients and workers,” stated Parkinson. “They understand this is an unprecedented health crisis requiring significant funding to protect residents and caregivers. That’s why eight out of 10 voters support our request for the federal government to provide $10 billion in emergency funding for expanded testing, PPE supplies and additional staffing. Long term care providers can also be part of the solutions as the country recovers from the impacts of COVID-19, but we need the tools to do so.”

To see AHCA/NCAL’s one pager, click here.

For more information on the profession’s response, please visit www.ahcancal.org/coronavirus. 

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The American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) represents more than 14,000 non-profit and proprietary skilled nursing centers, assisted living communities, sub-acute centers and homes for individuals with intellectual and development disabilities. By delivering solutions for quality care, AHCA/NCAL aims to improve the lives of the millions of frail, elderly and individuals with disabilities who receive long term or post-acute care in our member facilities each day. For more information, please visit www.ahcancal.org or www.ncal.org