Assisted Living Communities Get Much-Needed Virus Aid for First Time

U.S. assisted living communities this week received much-needed coronavirus aid from the federal government that was previously restricted to nursing communities, reports Bloomberg . The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) allocated $15 billion for providers that participate in certain state programs like Medicaid and have not yet received any aid. That opens access to some assisted-living communities, which had been barred from previous rounds because their residents do not rely on the federal Medicare program. Assisted-living residents have individual living spaces, which a study from the University of Washington in JAMA Internal Medicine found to be an advantage in dealing with the virus. Argentum has pushed for $20 billion in aid for its members, noting they serve similarly vulnerable people with much fewer resources than nursing communities. Nursing communities, which offer round-the-clock medical care and thus tend not to send residents to hospitals, constitute much of the country's COVID-19 deaths. The National Center for Assisted Living estimates that slightly less than 50 percent of U.S. assisted-living and residential-care communities will likely qualify for the latest round based on state Medicaid criteria. A HHS spokersperson said the agency "will provide relief funds to assisted-living providers that provide services to Medicaid enrollees,"with qualifying communities receiving at least 2 percent of total patient-care revenue.