Clif Porter, head of the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL) dared a packed Las Vegas ballroom at his group’s annual conference to think of what the skilled nursing profession could be if a new “dawn for long-term care” can be achieved.

Robbed of his chance to address such a conference in 2024 due to the Florida hurricanes, Porter took his allotted speaking time to offer his own biography but also to point the sector forward.

Victories in avoiding Medicaid cuts in the Republican “Big Beautiful Bill” and the elimination of the Biden-era staffing mandate marked a successful first year for the association and Porter, but the next steps are to prepare the sector for a potential onslaught of new residents by turning that momentum into something permanent.

He asked the audience to imagine the following for their profession:

1 – Demand so great that waiting lists will be required to get into communities.

2 – A public so enmeshed with long-term care – due to the high numbers of the population in SNF and other care – that they demand policymakers support the sector.

3 – Clinicians clamoring to work in long-term care where they can be hands-on and face challenges like in no other care setting.

4 – Workers wanting to work in communities, brought on by job demands and new programs AHCA/NCAL is supporting in Congress to act on its “Caregivers for Tomorrow” initiatives.

5 – More international caregivers brought into the country under new immigration policies where communities can be a landing place for workers.

6 – A regulatory environment that focuses on improvements to quality and not punishment.

7 – And, a MA program that pays reimbursement rates comparable to fee-for-service.

Questions or comments? Contact Patrick Connole at pconnole@parkplacelive.com