Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and select members of the Senate Finance Committee announced a new long-term care initiative—outlined in a Dear Colleague letter, the third in a series aimed at improving the healthcare system—on May 20, 2026, focused on three pillars: making home care more accessible and affordable, improving the quality of care in nursing homes, and strengthening the long-term care workforce. It is important to note that no policies have been proposed at this time; however, the Committee will be seeking feedback on current policy issues.

For nursing homes, this means exploring ways to: ensure government funds are spent on direct care compensation, strengthen nursing home staffing through standards and other incentives, and improve transparency and oversight. For home care, the goals are to both strengthen access to Medicaid home and community-based services and ensure affordable access to home care for Medicare beneficiaries — though given the broad scope of the project, discussions around financing this type of expansion will likely not be limited to Medicare. The long-term care workforce pillar includes a mention of immigration as well as training, retention, and wages.

The Committee intends this to be a multi-year initiative during which information and input is obtained from a variety of sources, including stakeholders, that will then be used to inform the development of policies and incentives to advance the initiative. LeadingAge will be deeply engaged in this effort to ensure that Senators engaged in this effort are educated on the implications of these issues and policy approaches for our members and to share our vision and long-term goals for supporting, shaping, and improving our sector and informing the direction of this future roadmap.