Complete Story
03/02/2021
Wallace testifies in House Subcommittee on LTSS budget needs
Last week, LeadingAge Ohio was invited to testify before the House Finance Subcommittee on Health and Human Services on HB110, Ohio’s operating budget bill for SFY2022-23, as part of an aging panel that included LeadingAge Ohio, o4a, the Ohio Council for Home Care & Hospice, the Ohio Healthcare Association, and the Ohio Assisted Living Association.
In testimony, Wallace shared LeadingAge Ohio’s priorities including shoring up payment for adult day providers, preserving the Governor’s proposed boost to home- and community-based waivers and state plan home health, and proceeding with rebasing as scheduled for Ohio’s nursing homes.
Wallace's testimony, both in person and the written submission, also focused on workforce, and included the following statement:
"Even before the pandemic of the past year, if you asked an aging service provider what their top concern was, they would say workforce. We were eagerly pursuing legislative solutions on workforce issues just prior to the pandemic. This is as true for a home health agency as it is for a nursing facility, and though frontline caregivers are the most-needed, facilities also struggle to fill positions such as facilities management, groundskeepers, activity coordinators and social workers. The need feels near universal."
Testimony can be viewed on the Ohio Channel. The aging panel begins at 1:16. LeadingAge Ohio’s testimony begins at 1:54. Questions from committee members begin at 2:05.