PHI Statement on Senate Effort to Reimagine Long-Term Care

PHI applauds Senator Wyden (D-OR) and his Senate colleagues for launching a policy development effort to repair and reimagine long-term care in America. Through a Dear Colleague letter, the Senators have outlined an ambitious vision for improving the affordability, accessibility, and quality of long-term services and supports, while recognizing a fundamental reality: high-quality care depends on a stable, well-supported workforce.

We are particularly encouraged by the commitment to improving wages, benefits, training, and career pathways for direct care workers; addressing workforce shortages through investments in workforce development; supporting family caregivers; and ensuring caregivers are recognized as essential members of the care team. These priorities align closely with PHI’s Universal Direct Care Workforce Initiative™, which seeks to address longstanding, systemic challenges facing the workforce through core competencies, stackable and portable credentials, career pathways, an accessible training infrastructure, and a comprehensive wage strategy.

As this effort advances, PHI looks forward to working with Senator Wyden and other leaders to develop policies that strengthen the direct care workforce, expand access to high-quality care, and build a long-term care system in which older adults and people with disabilities can receive the support they need in the settings they choose.