September 8, 2022 Washington, DC — Statement from Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO, LeadingAge, the association of nonprofit providers of aging services, including nursing homes, on the Sept. 8 CMS / Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) notification to nursing homes on debt collection practices:

“We can all agree that there are no excuses for bad actors who resort to illegal methods of guaranteeing payment for care in nursing homes. For the nonprofit, mission-driven providers in LeadingAge’s membership, the top priority is always caring for our nation’s most vulnerable older adults.

As the Biden Administration continues its efforts to improve the safety and quality of care in our nation’s nursing homes, we support them shining a spotlight on inappropriate practices when they occur—and encourage them to look at the larger systemic problems that hurt all long-term care consumers.

Older adults and families rely on nursing homes to provide care for round-the-clock care, and they are not being served by our country’s broken long-term care payment system. It is no secret that Medicaid, the dominant payer of nursing homes, does not cover the cost of quality care. At the same time, the costs of care—and particularly workforce expenses, as labor shortages persist—are only increasing.

Reform must not only address the misdeeds of the minority of providers, but also solve chronic underfunding of a system that serves millions of older Americans and their families. Only then, will American consumers’ needs truly be met.

We look forward to continuing working with the Administration to help address specific practices that must be corrected.”

We represent more than 5,000 nonprofit aging services providers and other mission-minded organizations that touch millions of lives every day. Alongside our members and 38 state partners, we use applied research, advocacy, education, and community-building to make America a better place to grow old. Our membership, which now includes the providers of the Visiting Nurse Associations of America, encompasses the continuum of services for people as they age, including those with disabilities. We bring together the most inventive minds in the field to lead and innovate solutions that support older adults wherever they call home. For more information visit leadingage.org.