Letters Letter to House Ways and Means Committee on Protecting Rural Seniors’ Access to Care Act

February 29, 2024

Lutheran Services in America, in partnership with the American Health Care Association (AHCA) and 33 of our member organizations across 16 states, addressed a letter to the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee to spur action on the Protecting Rural Seniors’ Access to Care Act (S.3410/H.R. 5796). The bill, which Lutheran Services in America has endorsed, will prohibit the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from finalizing the proposed one-size-fits-all, unfunded skilled nursing facility minimum staffing rule that was released for comment last year by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Letters Letter to Department of Labor and Office of Management and Budget Urging Alignment on Overtime Rules and Nonprofit Federal Grant Payment Amounts

October 31, 2023

Lutheran Services in America joined with other nonprofit groups to ask OMB to insert language in the final rule they are drafting governing nonprofit federal grants to ensure award amounts keep pace with increased staffing costs related to a DOL proposed rule which would broaden the group of employees eligible for overtime pay.

Letters Letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken Urging the Correction of Visa Retrogression Issue for International Nurses to Benefit LTC Workforce

October 31, 2023

Lutheran Services in America joined with other organizations working in skilled nursing and longterm care to ask the State Department to end the freeze on EB-3 visas and bring the dates current for application review.

Comments & Statements Comments to CMS on Minimum Staffing Standards for Long-Term Care Facilities and Medicaid Institutional Payment Transparency Reporting

October 23, 2023

Endorsed Letters & Legislation House of Representatives Bipartisan Letter to HHS Secy. Becerra Raising Concerns about SNF Minimum Staffing Rule

October 9, 2023

Lutheran Services in America endorsed a letter sent by a bipartisan group of Representatives raising significant concerns about CMS’s proposed rule mandating minimum staffing levels and 24/7 RN coverage at skilled nursing facilities.

Comments & Statements Response to House Committee on Ways & Means RFI on Improving Access to Health Care in Rural and Underserved Areas

October 9, 2023

Endorsed Letters & Legislation The Housing Alignment and Coordination of Critical and Effective Supportive Health Services (ACCESS) Act

October 9, 2023

Comments & Statements Comments to CMS on Payment Policies Under the Physician Fee Schedule and Other Changes to Part B Payment and Coverage Policies, etc.

September 12, 2023

Endorsed Letters & Legislation The Homeless Children and Youth Act (HCYA)

August 28, 2023

The legislation aligns federal definitions of homelessness for children and youth, streamlining assistance, leveraging resources, and bringing greater visibility to the reality of family and youth homelessness.

Endorsed Letters & Legislation Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2023

August 28, 2023

This legislation will make days spent in observation count towards Medicare’s three-day inpatient stay requirement for Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) coverage.