Gillibrand: The HCBS Access Act

FROM SEN. GILLIBRAND: U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) joined her Senate colleagues to introduce the Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Access Act, legislation to ensure older adults and people with disabilities have a real choice between receiving long-term care at home or in institutional settings. The legislation would make home and community-based care a mandatory Medicaid benefit, gradually eliminate waiting lists for services, strengthen the home and community-based care workforce, and provide greater support for family caregivers. Under current Medicaid policy, many older adults and people with disabilities have access to nursing homes and other institutional care, but if they want to remain in their home and community, access to home and community-based services often depends on state waiver programs that can leave people waiting years — or even decades — for the care they need. The HCBS Access Act would expand access to home and community-based care and ensure that people who want to stay in their home and receive care can. “A safe, accessible place to live should be a right, not a privilege, for our seniors,” said Senator Gillibrand. “The Home and Community-Based Services Access Act would help ensure that New York seniors and people with disabilities can access the care that best meets their needs, allowing them to live comfortably in the communities of their choice. As the top Democrat on the Senate Aging Committee, I’ll keep fighting to remove barriers to HCBS and expand access to quality, affordable care for our seniors.”

Specifically, the Home and Community-Based Services Access Act would:

Make HCBS a mandatory Medicaid benefit, ensuring eligible individuals can choose between receiving care at home or in an institutional setting.
Eliminate the need for administratively burdensome Medicaid HCBS waiver programs.
Increase federal Medicaid funding for home and community-based services.
Provide grants to help states expand their HCBS capacity and reduce waiting lists.
Strengthen the direct care workforce by improving job quality, stability, and workforce availability.
Support states in providing caregiving workers with stable, quality jobs and living wages.
Expand training and support for family caregivers.
Improve oversight and quality assurance for home and community-based services.

Senator Gillibrand continues to fight in the Senate for older adults and people with disabilities to live and age with dignity in the setting of their choice. In May, Gillibrand introduced an initiative to help counteract Trump’s cuts to Medicaid and services that support our seniors and caregivers. Her Older Americans Act (OAA) Reauthorization Act, which passed the Senate unanimously this July, would extend funding for nutritional programs, transportation services, and in-home assistance for seniors, allowing them to continue thriving in their communities and delaying the transition to institutional care. In August, she introduced the Senior Accessible Housing Tax Credit Act and the Visitable Inclusive Tax Credits for Accessible Living (VITAL) Act, both of which would support accessible housing for seniors and people with disabilities, promoting community living.

In addition to Gillibrand, the HCBS Access Act is co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).