[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 20 (Thursday, January 31, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S803-S804]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
By Ms. COLLINS (for herself and Mr. Cardin):
S. 296. A bill to amend XVIII of the Social Security Act to ensure
more timely access to home health services for Medicare beneficiaries
under the Medicare program; to the Committee on Finance.
Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I rise to introduce legislation with my
colleague Senator Casey that would reauthorize the only federally
funded programs that are specifically designed to develop a health
provider workforce to care for our older Americans. The Geriatrics
Workforce Improvement Act would reauthorize the Geriatrics Workforce
Enhancement Program and also reinstate the Geriatrics Academic Career
Award Program.
The number of Americans aged 65 and older is growing rapidly. In my
State of Maine, we are reaching an aging milestone faster than are
other States. By 2020, the number of Maine seniors is projected to
exceed the number of Maine children. This is 15 years ahead of the
nationally projected date of 2035, at which point the number of
Americans aged 65 and older will outnumber those under the age of 18
for the first time in our Nation's history.
The United States is facing a critical shortage of geriatric health
professionals and direct service workers to support our aging
population. Today, we need 20,000 geriatricians. However, fewer than
7,300 of our Nation's nearly 1 million physicians are board certified
as geriatricians. By 2030, we will need 30,000 geriatricians and even
more geriatric health professionals and direct service workers. To
achieve this goal, we will need to train 1,600 geriatric specialists
per year over the next 12 years.
For the State of Maine, with an aging population of more than a
quarter million Mainers over the age of 65 and with only 40
geriatricians, there is an acute need to quickly train more geriatric
health professionals and direct service workers to meet the growing
demand. The University of New England, College of Osteopathic Medicine
has joined the University of Maine this year in proposing the ``Aging
Maine Transformation Collaborative.'' I was pleased to lend my support
to this collaboration earlier this year. If funded, AgingME would
become our State's first Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program and
would bring with it much needed assistance to communities and families
throughout our State.
Nationwide, our bill would reauthorize this workforce enhancement
program at $45 million per year over the next 5 years and would
reinstate the Geriatrics Academic Career Award Program at $6 million
per year. Together, these programs would train the current workforce
and family caregivers while simultaneously developing a cadre of
emerging leaders in geriatric education in a variety of disciplines. By
doing both, we will ensure that older Americans will be cared for, for
decades to come, by a healthcare workforce that will be specifically
trained to meet their unique and complex healthcare challenges. This
training of using the most efficient and effective methods for older
adults will result in improved care while reducing unnecessary costs.
I am pleased to say that our legislation is supported by the leading
organizations in gerontology and geriatrics, including the Eldercare
Workforce Alliance, the American Geriatrics Society, the Alzheimer's
Impact Movement, and the National Association of Geriatric Education
Centers.
I ask unanimous consent that these letters of support be printed in
the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Eldercare Workforce Alliance,
Washington, DC, January 25, 2019.
Hon. Susan Collins,
Chair, Special Committee on Aging,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Hon. Bob Casey,
Ranking Member, Special Committee on Aging,
U.S. Senate Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Susan Collins and Senator Bob Casey: On behalf
of the Eldercare Workforce Alliance (EWA), we are writing to
express our support of the Geriatrics Workforce Improvement
Act.
EWA is a coalition of 32 national consumer, health care
professional, direct-care worker and family caregiver
organizations. The number of Americans over age 65 is
expected to reach 70 million by 2030, representing a 71%
increase from today's 41 million older adults. Today's health
care workforce is inadequate to meet the needs of older
Americans, many of whom have multiple chronic physical and
mental health conditions and cognitive impairments. Without a
national commitment to expand training and educational
opportunities, the workforce will be even more constrained in
its ability to care for the elderly population as the baby
boom generation ages.
This bipartisan bill supports two critical objectives.
First, it would formally establish funding for the Geriatrics
Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP). Second, it would
reestablish the Geriatric Academic Career Awards (GACAs), a
previously funded program for developing clinician-educators.
By supporting the GWEP and the GACAs, the Geriatrics
Workforce Improvement Act would:
Foster education and engagement with family caregivers by
training providers who can assess and address their care
needs and preferences.
Promote interdisciplinary team-based care by transforming
clinical training environments to integrate geriatrics and
primary care delivery systems.
Improve the quality of care delivered to older adults by
providing education to families and caregivers on critical
care challenges like Alzheimer's disease and related
dementias.
Reach underserved and rural communities by ensuring
clinician-educators are prepared to train the geriatrics
workforce of today and tomorrow.
[[Page S804]]
This investment protects our most vulnerable elders and
invests in our country's future. We ask that you continue
your support for the programs at this crucial time, and thank
you for your leadership on this issue.
Sincerely,
Nancy Lundebjerg, MPA,
EWA Co-Convener.
Michele J. Saunders, DMD, MS, MPH,
EWA Co-Convener.
____
American Geriatrics Society,
New York, NY, January 25, 2019.
Hon. Susan Collins,
Chair, Special Committee on Aging,
U.S. Senate Washington, DC.
Hon. Bob Casey,
Ranking Member, Special Committee on Aging,
U.S. Senate Washington, DC.
Dear Senator Susan Collins and Senator Bob Casey: The
American Geriatrics Society (AGS), an organization devoted to
improving the health, independence and quality of life of
older adults, supports the Geriatrics Workforce Improvement
Act. The AGS is thankful for your support of the geriatrics
workforce training programs and for your efforts to improve
care of older Americans.
The Geriatrics Workforce Improvement Act would authorize
the Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP) and the
Geriatrics Academic Career Awards (GACAs) program under Title
VII of the Public Health Service Act. The AGS believes that
both programs must be authorized and funded if all Americans
are to have access to high-quality, person-centered care as
we grow older.
The GWEP is currently the only federal program designed to
increase the number of providers, in a variety of
disciplines, with the skills and training to care for older
adults. The GWEPs educate and engage the broader frontline
workforce including family caregivers and focus on
opportunities to improve the quality of care delivered to
older adults, particularly in underserved and rural areas.
The GACA program is an essential complement to the GWEP
program. GACAs ensure we can equip early career clinician
educators to become leaders in geriatrics education and
research.
The introduction of this important legislation follows
announcements of related funding opportunities from the
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in
November 2018. Authorization of the GWEPs and GACAs as
outlined in the Geriatrics Workforce Improvement Act will
help ensure that HRSA receives the funding necessary to carry
these critically important workforce training programs
forward.
At a time when our nation is facing a severe shortage of
both geriatrics healthcare providers and faculty with the
expertise to train these providers, the AGS believes the
number of educational and training opportunities in
geriatrics and gerontology should be expanded, not reduced.
Thank you for your leadership on this issue.
Sincerely,
Laurie Jacobs, MD, AGSF,
President.
Nancy E. Lundebjerg, MPA,
Chief Executive Officer.
____
Alzheimer's Impact Movement,
Washington, DC, January 31, 2019.
Hon. Susan Collins,
Chairman, Senate Committee on Aging,
Washington, DC.
Hon. Bob Casey,
Ranking Member, Senate Committee on Aging,
Washington, DC.
Dear Chairwoman Collins and Ranking Member Casey: On behalf
of the Alzheimer's Association and the Alzheimer's Impact
Movement (AIM), including our nationwide networks of
advocates, thank you for your continued leadership on issues
and legislation important to Americans living with
Alzheimer's and other dementias, and to their caregivers. The
Alzheimer's Association and AIM are pleased to support the
Geriatrics Workforce Improvement Act.
More than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's
and, without significant action, nearly 14 million Americans
will have Alzheimer's by 2050. Today, another person develops
the disease every 65 seconds; by 2050, someone in the United
States will develop the disease every 33 seconds. This
explosive growth will cause Alzheimer's costs to increase
from an estimated $277 billion in 2018 to $1.1 trillion in
2050 (in 2018 dollars). These mounting costs threaten to
bankrupt families, businesses and our health care system.
Unfortunately, our work is only growing more urgent.
The Geriatrics Workforce Improvement Act would develop a
workforce capable of providing complex, high-quality care
that improves health outcomes and reduces costs for a diverse
and growing aging population. It would reauthorize the
Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP), and
reinstate the Geriatrics Academic Career Awards (GACAs)
Program, a previously funded program for developing
clinician-educators, two critical objectives to ensure
communities across the nation have access to health
professionals and other critical supports, improving care for
all of us as we age. By supporting the GWEP and GACAs the
Geriatrics Workforce Improvement Act would, foster education
and engagement with family caregivers by training providers
who can assess and address care needs and preferences, reach
underserved and rural communities by ensuring clinician-
educators are prepared to train the geriatrics workforce of
today and tomorrow, and improve the quality of care delivered
to older adults by providing education to families and
caregivers on critical care challenges.
The Alzheimer's Association and AIM deeply appreciate your
continued leadership on behalf of all Americans living with
Alzheimer's and other dementias. We look forward to
continuing to work with you and your colleagues to improve
care and support for individuals and families affected by
Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. If you have any
questions about this or any other legislation, please contact
Rachel Conant, Senior Director of Federal Affairs.
Sincerely,
Robert Egge,
Chief Public Policy Officer, Executive Vice President,
Government Affairs, Alzheimer's Association.
____
National Association of
Geriatric Education Centers,
January 25, 2019.
Hon. Susan Collins,
Chair, Special Committee on Aging,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Hon. Bob Casey,
Ranking Member, Special Committee on Aging,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Collins and Ranking Member Casey: On behalf
of the HRSA Title VII and Title VIII funded Geriatrics
Workforce Enhancement Programs (GWEPs) across the country,
thank you for your past support of geriatric education and
for introducing the Geriatrics Workforce Improvement Act. The
National Association for Geriatric Education (NAGE) is
pleased to offer our support for the Geriatrics Workforce
Improvement Act, which will reauthorize the GWEP and once
again make the Geriatrics Academic Career Award program
(GACA) a part of the effort to prepare the geriatrics
workforce for the aging of our population. We and the growing
numbers of older adults, caregivers, and clinicians caring
for elders will urge Congress to move quickly to pass your
bill and provide the resources to address our nation's
growing demand for geriatric care.
We appreciate the many discussions that your staff
facilitated with NAGE, as well as with the Eldercare
Workforce Alliance, the American Geriatrics Society, and The
Gerontological Society of America during the process of
developing this legislation. This authorization and related
funding are needed for the development of a health care
workforce specifically trained to care for older adults and
to support their family caregivers. Currently there are only
44 GWEP sites in 29 states. The modest increase in the
authorization in your bill will have an important impact on
training in geriatric care. Likewise, the funds you have
authorized for the GACA program complement the GWEP, and
support faculty that will teach and lead geriatrics programs.
The bill will also assist in ensuring that rural and
underserved areas will have geriatrics education programs.
NAGE is a non-profit membership organization representing
GWEP sites, Centers on Aging, and Geriatric Education Centers
that provide education and training to health professionals
in the areas of geriatrics and gerontology. Our mission is to
help America's healthcare workforce be better prepared to
render age-appropriate care to today's older Americans and
those of tomorrow.
Thank you for your continued support for geriatric
education programs.
Sincerely,
Catherine Carrico, PhD,
President NAGE/NAGEC, Associate Director, Wyoming Geriatric
Workforce Enhancement Program, Wyoming Center on Aging,
Clinical Assistant Professor, College of Health Sciences,
University of Wyoming.
____
Ms. COLLINS. Mr. President, I urge all of my colleagues to support
this bipartisan bill that would ensure geriatric education for our
current workforce while it would optimize resources to bolster academic
careers in geriatrics and help to attract the best and the brightest
into this field. Together, these programs would develop exactly the
kind of highly qualified workforce that we need to care for Americans
as our Nation grows older.
I thank the Presiding Officer.
______