FACT SHEET: Administration Announces Most Sweeping Set of Executive Actions to Improve Care in History

Posted in RESOURCES

Mary Madison, RN, RAC-CT, CDP
Clinical Consultant – Briggs Healthcare

On April 18, 2023, President Biden announced “the most comprehensive set of executive actions any President has ever taken to improve care for hard-working families while supporting care workers and family caregivers.”

The President’s Executive Order provides for numerous initiatives, including:

  • Make child care and long-term care more accessible and affordable for families, including military families.
  • Improve access to home-based care for veterans.
  • Boost job quality for early educators.
  • Enhance job quality for long-term care workers. The President is committed to improving the quality of long-term care jobs in this country so that Americans can get the reliable, high-quality care they deserve—whether it is in their homes and communities or in nursing homes. To advance the President’s long-term care priorities, the Executive Order directs HHS to consider issuing several regulations and guidance documents to improve the quality of home care jobs, including by leveraging Medicaid funding to ensure there are enough home care workers to provide care to seniors and people with disabilities enrolled in Medicaid, as well as build on the minimum staffing standards for nursing homes and condition a portion of Medicare payments on how well a nursing home retains workers.
  • Support family caregivers. 
  • Advance domestic workers’ rights.
  • Ease construction of early childhood facilities for Tribes.
  • Engage affected communities.

The President’s Budget also includes $150 billion over the next decade to improve and expand Medicaid home care services—making it easier for seniors and people with disabilities to live, work, and participate in their communities. This funding would improve the quality of jobs for home care workers and support family caregivers. The Administration is also promoting the use of apprenticeship programs and partnering with employers, unions, and others to recruit, train, and keep long-term care workers on the job while also helping them advance their careers as registered and licensed nurses. Just this month, the President also signed the first-ever proclamation designating April as National Care Worker Recognition Month, to honor the efforts and sacrifices of our child care and long-term care workers.

I encourage you to review and share this Fact Sheet with your team and colleagues.