Bipartisan Legislation Will Improve Health Care Standards and Access for America’ s Seniors
From the Office of Congressman Nick Langworthy,
Washington, DC–February 14, 2025…Congressman Nick Langworthy has introduced the Long-term Care and Transparency Act focused on improving health outcomes and transparency in long-term care settings for America’s senior population. This bipartisan legislation is co-led by Reps. Lloyd Smucker (R-PA). Reps Don Davis (D-NC), and Claudia Tenney (R-NY) are original co-sponsors as well. It was previously introduced in the 118th Congress where it was under consideration by the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
Currently, the States’ Long-Term Care (LTC) Ombudsman program that is authorized under the Older Americans Act investigates complaints and compiles data for nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and other residential care settings. Nationally, in 2022, the Ombudsman program investigated more than 198,502 complaints and provided information on long-term care to another 407,817 people. While each state is required to submit a report to the Administration on the Aging (AoA) on the number of facilities visited, types of complaints handled, and how they were resolved, they are not required to share this information with Congress. By making the work of the LTC Ombudsman Programs public, we can increase transparency and ultimately improve the quality of care for our seniors.
“Our seniors, particularly those in long-term care facilities, are one of our most vulnerable populations who oftentimes don’t have anyone to advocate them,” said Congressman Nick Langworthy (NY-23). “It’s great that we have an Ombudsman program to investigate problems, but that information is only valuable if it’s made available to Congress who are responsible for crafting public policy. I often say that sunlight is the best disinfectant and that certainly applies to the inner workings of the long-term care facilities our seniors rely on. This commonsense legislation will go a long way toward identifying gaps in care and will help ensure better health outcomes for our seniors.
“Seniors should always be treated with respect and dignity. Collecting this data at the national level will help Congress identify gaps in care standards to strengthen federal policy to ensure seniors receive the care they deserve. I appreciate the efforts of states’ Ombudsman programs in advocating for and protecting seniors and believe that increased transparency will continue to improve long-term care services for older Americans,” said Rep. Lloyd Smucker (PA-11).
This bill requires AoA to submit these findings to the committees of jurisdiction in the Senate and House including the Special Committee on Aging, the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and the Committee on Education and Workforce. It is supported by the National Association of State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Programs and the Elder Justice Coalition.
Patricia Hunter, President, The National Association of State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Programs (NASOP) said, “The National Association of State Long-Term Care Ombudsman Programs (NASOP) is once again pleased to lend its support to the Long-Term Care Transparency Act, which will promote the sharing of important data and information about the work of ombudsmen resolving resident complaints and ensuring higher quality care. We commend Representative Nick Langworthy for his sponsorship of this legislation which will strengthen the Older Americans Act.”
Bob Blancato, National Coordinator for the Elder Justice Coalition, said, “The bi-partisan 3000-member Elder Justice Coalition fully supports the Long Term Care Transparency Act. We commend Rep Langworthy for his leadership in sponsoring the bill. It is both appropriate and overdue for the state’s long-term care ombudsman program to be better supported. Calling for better data collection will certainly help the cause.”
