2022 Oregon Long Term Care State Report www.ohca.com 24 2023 Policy Priorities Stabilize and Grow the Long Term Care Workforce As Oregon’s aging population grows, the caregiving workforce must also grow to meet the demand for care. Providers are doing everything they can to recruit and retain direct care staff, certified nurse assistants, registered nurses, and other essential workers. Workers’ wages and benefits have increased significantly over the past few years. Nevertheless, an acute scarcity of trained and qualified workers is the single biggest challenge facing the long term care sector today and is limiting access to long term care services and supports for Oregonians. Oregon must expand investments in the caregiving workforce in 2023: fRenew the MedicaidWage Add-On Program that offers additional funding to providers who meet specified wage thresholds through Medicaid reimbursement. fContinue the Oregon Essential Workforce Health Care Fund, providing high quality health insurance benefits for employees of participating long term care employers. fDeliver wraparound support services for essential caregivers that allow them to stay in their jobs, including childcare, workforce housing, health services, and transportation supports. Support Access to Care Ensuring all Oregonians have access to long term care, especially for those who are low-income or live in rural communities, depends on Medicaid reimbursement rates meeting the true cost of care. fNursing Facilities: Continue to fully rebase Medicaid reimbursement rates fCommunity-Based Care and In-Home Care Agencies: Revamp Medicaid reimbursement rates to cover the true cost of quality care Ease Overly Restrictive Regulatory Burdens Causing Staff Departures Oregon has one of the most highly regulated long term care systems in the nation. The COVID-19 pandemic required significant and costly enhancements such as infection prevention and control, vaccinations, personal protective equipment, and caregiver supports. Most long term care providers continue to operate under a vast array of pandemic-related restrictions and oversight, in addition to implementing new regulations adopted over the last few biennia. While many recent regulations and requirements are intended to protect the health of residents, the cost of care is rising dramatically and caregivers are leaving the sector to avoid working under restrictive and challenging conditions. Now is the time to pause any new regulatory requirements, analyze existing requirements to assess whether they are causing staff to leave, and allow time for recently adopted laws to be fully implemented by the Department and providers.
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