3 LeadingAge Members Meet with Top Medicaid Official
Cindy MannRepresentatives from Eliza Bryant Village, Stoddard Baptist, and Apostolic Christian Home met with Cindy Mann, deputy administrator of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and director of the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS), to discuss the importance of Medicaid to their organizations, and share with Mann the various services that they offer in their communities.
All 3 LeadingAge members highlighted their prominence as major employers in their areas, and discussed future possibilities of designating "critical access communities/nursing homes" to organizations who contribute unique services to diverse populations and provide employment to members of the community.
Mann appeared open to the possibility of exploring options of developing special designations for organizations of this type, and promised to consider this idea in future CMS efforts and regulations.
Mann also expressed interest in various LeadingAge initiatives regarding low-income housing with supportive services, and stated that CMS has been working on housing ideas with HUD and hopes to continue to build on these efforts..
These members, who represent both rural and urban nursing homes in drastically different areas of the country, provided an excellent beginning to what will be an ongoing conversation with a top government official on ways to maintain quality care and to continue to improve skilled nursing services to diverse populations of older adults through innovative programs and comprehensive community engagement.