May 28, 2026
FROM SENATOR GILLIBRAND: U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) announced a plan to improve access to and affordability of long-term care for seniors, Americans with disabilities, and their families. This plan builds on her work to support caregivers, protect Medicaid, and help seniors age with dignity as the top Democrat on the Senate Aging Committee. “New York families are confronting a long-term care crisis that threatens their savings, their peace of mind, and their health,” said Senator Gillibrand. “While Republicans roll back vital nursing home staffing standards and slash hundreds of billions from Medicaid, Senate Democrats are fighting back. I’m proud to join my colleagues in an effort to strengthen our caregiving infrastructure by expanding access to affordable care, securing living wages for caregivers, and raising standards for nursing homes. Supporting seniors is common sense. We cannot let partisan attacks jeopardize their safety or financial security.” New York is one of the least affordable states for long-term care. According to a new AARP report, in 2024, the median annual income for adults 65+ in New York was $59,909. In contrast, the annual cost of long-term care in New York matched or exceeded that number:
$186,698 – Nursing Home Private Room
$176,660 – Nursing Home Semi-Private Room
$75,600 – Assisted Living
$53,040 – Part-Time Home Health Aide
Additionally, long-term care costs in New York have grown faster than incomes in recent years, and seniors’ savings are often insufficient to cover their care needs. The median household age 75 and older has about $50,000 in financial assets, only enough to cover about one year of home care or a few months of nursing home care. Amid these challenging trends, Gillibrand and 16 of her Senate Democratic colleagues announced a new initiative to seek input and expertise in developing policies to expand home care, improve nursing homes, and address workforce shortages to create quality, sustainable jobs for both types of care.
The letter describes three goals that will be the focus for policy development among the group in the coming weeks and months:
Make home care affordable and accessible
Improve the quality of care in nursing homes
Use incentives to strengthen the long-term care workforce
This effort builds on Gillibrand’s work to strengthen long-term care as ranking member of the Senate Aging Committee. Gillibrand leads the effort to reauthorize the Older Americans Act (OAA), which provides key supports and services for aging Americans and their caregivers to promote living with dignity in the setting of their choice. The senator has additionally long fought to secure minimum staffing standards in nursing homes to improve quality of care for residents. She has also introduced myriad legislation to increase wages and support for caregivers to bolster this vital workforce, including the Social Security Caregiver Credit Act, the Respite CARE Act, the Fair Wages for Home Care Workers Act, and the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Act.
In contrast to these efforts, Republicans have spent their time in power making long-term care more expensive and harder to get. They cut Medicaid—the largest payer of long-term care services—by nearly $1 trillion. In addition, Republicans repealed staffing standards for nursing homes that guaranteed access to a registered nurse 24/7.
