Letter to Alex Azar, Secretary of Health and Human Services - Emmer Calls for Increased Support for Senior Living Facilities

Letter

Dear Secretary Azar,

Senior living communities care for our nation's most vulnerable populations. Nearly 80 percent
of all COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. have occurred in people over the age of 65, making this
population among the most vulnerable to the virus. For older adults living in senior living
communities--whose average age is 85, the risk is even higher. Many senior living community
residents require assistance with activities of daily living, putting them in close contact with
direct care workers, and a majority suffer from chronic conditions and comorbidities. Financial
resources for these communities to assist in the administration of rapid-testing and vaccines is
urgently needed.

Senior living communities represent the more than two million seniors and their nearly one
million front-line caregivers across 21,600 assisted living, memory care, continuing care
retirement communities, and independent living communities. To combat the spread of the virus,
senior living operators have taken extraordinary measures and suffered billions of dollars in
financial loss. Senior living communities are not nursing homes, but we care for and protect the
same vulnerable populations.

We are encouraged by the Administration's recent announcement to prioritize and deliver rapid
response antigen tests to assisted living communities. Though the financial losses of senior living
operators continue to mount, the recent distribution for assisted living facilities in the Provider
Relief Fund is also greatly appreciated. As these communities continue to sustain massive
financial losses, it is important to note that they care for the same vulnerable populations as other long-term care facilities (such as skilled nursing facilities) yet have received only a fraction of federal relief.

As the Administration works toward its goal of rapid-testing and vaccination to abate the
pandemic in senior communities, please know that our members are with you. Senior living
facilities will be the cornerstone for implementing rapid testing, vaccinations and overall abating
the virus in the senior communities. To be effective, however, urgent financial resources are
needed. The costs of caring for those most at risk of infection cannot be overstated, and current
financial losses are simply not sustainable.

Senior living communities currently estimate COVID-related losses to total $15 billion. These
losses are long-term, compounding, and unsustainable. Unlike other providers, whose losses
were felt in the earlier days of this pandemic (due to loss of elective procedures), the senior
living industry is suffering our most significant losses now and these losses will only be
compounded in the future. This is due to the sharp decline in occupancy rate. Many providers
are reporting declines in admissions of 75% compared to the same period in 2019. In fact,
assisted living occupancy fell to a record low in the second quarter of 2020.

Such devastating losses are not sustainable and will dramatically impede the ability of these
facilities to administer long-term rapid-testing and vaccinations. Therefore, senior living
communities must have the financial resources to procure tests and acquire the requisite PPE and
staff to effectively implement widescale testing. We urge you to allocate unused Provider Relief
Fund monies, immediately, to provide assisted living communities with much needed support.
Our nation's most vulnerable populations and those who care for them must be prioritized. We
greatly appreciate your attention to this important matter.

Source